Desperate Revenge
by imaninja41
Summary: Justin Todd, Kyler Harper, Conan Kent, and Snow Jackson, my OC's are completely different from each other. When they all form a team on whim, only one thing is for sure: If they're the worlds finest teen heroes, we're all gonna die. Rated T for violence.
1. They Meet

Justine Todd was good at what she did. She was very good. She could shoot the eye out of a bird flying twenty feet away using a BB gun with one bullet. She could chase a robber at full speed for twenty blocks without tiring, not that she needed that much time to get him. She was agile enough to jump across three rooftops without making a single sound, and vanish without a trace. In short, she was a sharp shooting, gun slinging, eagle eyed, bad to the bone vigilante trained by Jason Peter Todd, also known as the Red Hood.

So, if she was so great, why on earth did she have to get paired with Robin?

Justin groaned, looking at Damian who was perched on the balcony next to her. She was good enough to chase down the snitch by herself; she didn't need Bird Boy tagging along. Unfortunately, Dick seemed to think other wise.

"Stop complaining Black Hood, I don't like it either." Robin spat, glaring at her.

"I didn't say anything." She protested. Robin, known to few others as Damian, was also great at what he did, unfortunately, he had to be a huge pain in the neck.

"That groan said everything I needed to hear." He sassed, looking at the night club across the street.

Damian may have been ten years old, but he had a superiority complex the size of a small country, the speech of a dictionary (meaning he used very big words, and cursed even more than a twenty year old male druggy) and he was related to three of the most messed up people on the planet, Talia Al Ghul, Ras Al Ghul, and Bruce Wayne. Believe it or not, the last one was actually a saint compared to the first two; although at times it seemed as though he was worse. Those times being when he found out Justin was the one who broke the thousand dollar vase, or that Damian was the one who gave Justin the black eye, not a street thug.

The last one was pretty obvious, no common street thug could take out Justin, she was a trained assassin, trained by Jason Todd, her Father. For another reason, Justin's Mother was Kimberley Mathilda, Blue Jay, who had also taught her a thing or two.

_'Why couldn't Dad have come with me? Or Mom, or Stephanie, or even Tim? Why did it have to be him?'_ Justin thought. Unfortunately, she knew the answer. If Damian hadn't come with her, he would have gone out by himself, and letting him loose on the Gotham City was like yelling at some one holding an AK47 that was locked and loaded, not to mention the wielder of said gun was a homicidal maniac. The only other person Damian could have gone with tonight would be Tim, and Tim would not have that, he hated Damian. Mostly because Damian hated him.

Another reason Dick had sent Damian along was because they weren't going to Gotham, no, the snitch had split town, choosing instead to go to Star City. Justin had a raging temper all her own, and she had to admit, if some one said the wrong things, and pushed the wrong buttons, like Damian, she would kill them. Sure, she knew she had anger problems, but she had never tried to work on them, something that made her like her Father. Maybe if she had, Dick would have trusted her enough to let her come alone to Star City and not cause trouble. Then she wouldn't be sitting next to the biggest jerk on the planet. The only thing she felt good about taking Damian with her, was that she was taller, and older, something she would continue to hold over his head forever more.

She sighed, and watched as their target came out of the night club, and started walking down the street. Her and Robin sprang into action, darting across the roof tops and following the target. They thought they had him when he ran into an alley, but when they jumped down to confront him, he wasn't there.

"What the-" Justin started, but then they heard something crash from the next alley. They looked at each other, and then ran to the next alley, and saw some one dressed entirely in read, holding bow loaded with an arrow, and a quiver full of arrows on their back. Justin smirked, knowing who it was. The new Speedy, Green Arrow's side kick. Rumor had it that the new Speedy was a girl, and now that Justin saw her up close, she knew it was true.

She had heard rumors about this new hero, saying her temper was matched only by her commitment to the job. Justin had heard a rumor that she knew wasn't true, but it was funny to think about, they said Speedy kept 'himself' so busy 'he' only had half an hour a day to sleep, and 'he' also used that time to exercise. Funny right?

Speedy was standing in front of their target, one arrow had already been fired, a net arrow that had the man tied up, and a knock out gas arrow was loaded, ready to fire. Justin wouldn't have that, if the man was unconscious, then they would have to drag him back to Gotham, and that was not happening.

Justin stepped foreword, "Speedy, right?"

Speedy turned looked over her shoulder, seeing the two were also heroes, she lowered her bow, deciding the man wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. "That's me. Your the Black Hood and Robin right? Something I can help you with?"

Justin smiled, "Yep, that's us, listen, that guy your about to knock out, we kind of need him. Chased him all the way from Gotham and we need him for questioning."

Speedy raised an eyebrow, "I caught him, and I need him too, Green Arrow asked me to grab him. We've been working on a case with him for awhile."

Justin frowned, not liking how Speedy was trying to take him, "So have we, and if you want Green Arrow to call Batman, then he'll explain it all."

Speedy frowned too, "Look, I caught him, I keep him. That's the rules around here."

Justin glared at her, "No, you look rookie, we have chased that miserable scum bag all the way from Gotham and we'll be taking him."

Speedy lifted her bow, pointing it at Justin, "Get lost, this ain't yer city."

Justin smirked, taking out her gun, and pointing it at Speedy, "Put your toys away kid, mine are cooler."

Speedy glared, "I'm not a rookie, and don't call me kid, your no older than me."

"Age wise, your right, maturity wise, your wrong." Justin said.

Speedy smirked, "Yeah, maturity wise, your seven."

Justin growled, and her finger tightened on the trigger.

Damian quickly stepped in between them, "Speedy, come on, you know me, we really need that guy, so if we could figure something out here, maybe question him together?"

Justin wanted to take a picture, this was the first she had ever heard of Damian stopping a fight. She knew that Robin and Speedy had worked together in the Teen Titans, until Damian quit that is. However, she hadn't thought that they had gotten along, by the look in Speedy's eyes; she respected him as an equal, and a friend. In Damian's eyes, she saw the tiniest bit of admiration.

_'Good grief.' _She thought, '_The bat family with the arrow family? That's an odd twist.'_

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

Speedy nodded, putting her bow away, and I put away my guns. Now I understood the real reason Dick had sent Damian along. Speedy and me were to much alike, he knew we would end up fighting if we ran into each other. Since Robin and Speedy were surprisingly friends, he knew Damian would be able to break it up.

Speedy took out a knife, and sliced the net away from the man, and Robin preceded to question him brutally. Finally, we had information worth writing home about. The gang this guy had recently quit was hiding out on the edge of Gotham. And by the edge of Gotham, I mean the really bad part, where teenagers can get any drug or alcohol or weapon without any chance of getting caught by the cops.

Where punk teenagers attended alley parties and raves almost every night. Even I didn't like going into that corner of Gotham. I wasn't scared, it just made me a little nervous, and when I saw teenagers staggering around drunk, it made me sick. Just looking at a kid drunk made me disgusted. Sure, I had a beer before, but I hadn't gotten drunk. What? My Dad is Jason Todd; of course I've had beer! Once just to see what it tasted like.

Speedy turned to me, "Well, looks like I'm headed to Gotham then."

"Drat." I muttered. I had only known Speedy for a few minutes, and I already hated her.

"Shame." She tossed back. Guess the feeling was mutual.

We let the guy go, right to the police station. Then we headed to that corner of Gotham. I looked at Speedy over my shoulder as we arrived, "Here's the rules tourist, stay behind me, don't talk, don't look anyone in the eye, and don't do anything stupid. I know that's near impossible for you, but in this business, it's all about pushing your limits."

She gave me a dirty look, and Damian raised an eyebrow at me, guess he really did think of her as a friend. Better lay off her then. _Not!_

We slowly walked down the street, and I spotted an alley party not far from here. "That's where we'll find any info they have around here." Damian said, and I took one look at Speedy, and smirked.

"OK, from here on out, this is an info gathering mission. Meaning, we have to blend in, meaning -"

"Masks off." She finished. She reached up, and pulled off her mask, "Damian already knows who I am, you don't. But I know who you are, Justin Todd."

I frowned, not liking that she knew who I was, and I didn't know her. She continued, "I won't tell you who I am, and you aren't gonna find me because of my face. I'm a nobody, but for the sake of the mission, you can call me Susan."

We quickly changed into civilian clothes, and headed to the alley party. We got there, and as soon as the girl pouring beer into plastic cups saw us, she immediately handed us some.

"It's completely free." She said, her mow hawk was a neon blue, and her ears were pierced so much, there was probably more metal than cartilage.

Speedy (Susan) looked at hers with disgust, dropping it. Damian merely handed it back, I dumped mind on the girls head.

She sputtered, wiping it off her face, and glared at me, the beer had made her mow hawk practically deflate, hanging in her face and the gel dripping into her eyes. I smirked, trying very hard not to laugh. She glared harder, "Go die scum bag!" She spat out.

I smirked, laughing a little, "Oh, I'm sorry did I hurt your little poser feelings?"

Her eyes practically glowed red, and then a voice came from behind me, "Valiant, these guys giving you trouble?"

I turned around, to see Conan Kent, also known to very few others as Super Kid. Her eyes widened, recognizing me, "Justin, what are you doing here?"

Valiant turned to Conan, "You know this doofus?"

My hand twitched to the gun that I had hidden in my leather jacket. Conan kept her face expressionless, and nodded, "Yeah, my Dad and her... uh older brother are best friends."

She was referring to her father, Conner Kent, also known as Superboy, and my 'older brother' Tim Drake. They were best friends, and they had gotten us together once, trying to get us to become best friends. Tim told me it was because Conan needed to get comfortable around people her own age. I knew the real reason. The real reason, well, reasons, were: 1, I had no friends except Damian, and he was more of a brother than a friend. They though I would be a little more non-antisocial if I had one close friend. 2, Conan's Dad thought that Valiant was a bad influence on her. I guess, with Valiant's defy the man attitude, she was.

It was a great plan, don't get me wrong, but they hadn't taken into calculation the fact that I also had a very big defy the man attitude. Not towards my Dad, no, Dad was cool; I didn't even have to defy him. More towards pretty much every one else. Dick, Tim, Bruce, even George, my grandfather. I guess sometimes I could be a real pain in the neck, but I just didn't give a Flying Grayson about that. I don't think I actually gave a Flying Grayson about much these days, except my work, and my family.

Damian turned to Conan, "We're here looking for a gang called Gotham Ghouls, heard of them?"

Conan nodded, whispering, "That's why I came here with Valiant tonight, some of the kids here are members of that gang, and I didn't want to risk her getting into trouble."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, I didn't really thing any of the members would hurt Valiant, she was the one who poured the drinks. Unless she picked a fight, or dumped the alcohol on their head. I turned to Valiant, to see her glaring at me, fingering something in her pocket that I would bet my mask was a knife. OK, maybe I was wrong about her not being in danger of getting killed.

Conan nodded her head to a group of people who looked to be around sixteen, seventeen, and a few looked eighteen. They were gathered around a radio that was blaring Papa Roach. "That's them, they keep to themselves, but if anyone approaches, they're either looking for a membership, or a _very _brutal beating." We would need to get into the gang, and get them to drop their guard before taking them in.

I nodded, "I've got this-"

"No." Said Speedy, "Let me take care of this, I know how gangs work."

I snorted, "So do I, and I already called it."

Damian turned to me, "Speedy is right, trust me Justin, she's the one for the job."

I raised an eyebrow, and Speedy walked over to the group carefully. Her body language made it clear she wasn't looking for a fight. "Hey," She said, her tone extremely bored and not interested, "Where you those guys that lit almost every car in that Wal-Mart parking lot on fire the other week?"

A few of them laughed, and one of them spoke, "Yeah that was us, why? You gonna call the cops?"

Speedy smirked, "Hardly, just wanted to thank you, one of those cars belonged to my math teacher."

They all laughed, and Speedy continued, "She was so upset, she forgot to give us her annual pop quiz."

I raised an eyebrow, she was talking to them as if she was already in the gang. One of them, who looked a little drunk, said, "Your OK kid, come on and sit down with us."

He grabbed her arm, and yanked her into the seat beside him.

We all left the alley, and changed into our costumes, masks and all, and sat on the roof top right above them, watching Speedy below.

She talked to them for awhile, asking questions in a way that gave a few hints she would be mildly interested in joining the gang. They asked her if she was in a different gang, and she laughed, "I used to be in one, very small one, they never did anything awesome like you guys. We would spray paint the bottoms of bridges and walls of abandoned buildings. They pretty much sucked, didn't even threaten to kill me when I told them I was quitting."

They talked a little more, and I found myself mildly impressed with how well she handled sitting with a gang, and talking with them as if they were old friends. Finally, they asked her if she would be interested in a member ship. She stood up, pulling on her mask. That was the signal, we dropped down next to her, and they jumped a little, faced with several heroes as Speedy shed her trench coat, revealing her costume.

"Sorry." She said, shrugging, "I'm booked tonight, agenda, taking you all down."

They stood up, going for their guns, but were quickly stopped by me and Damian's attacks. Speedy proved to be able to hold her own in one on one combat, but wasn't as good as us. She was more of a marksman, but she could pack a punch.

One of them tried to make a run of it, but Conan flew after him, grabbing him by the collar, and lifting him into the air. He kicked for a minute, before she threw him into the wall. The others kids who were just innocent party goers were running around scared, and she flew up above them, and quickly directed them out of the alley, before returning immediately to help us.

In no time, we had the gang unconscious at our feet. I smirked, turning to the others, "This was fun, lets do it again sometime."

Valiant approached us, "Nice show, you know, you guys could make a pretty good team."

Damian snorted, walking away, "Count me out of the girl club."

Super Kid spoke up, "Y'know, it's not a bad idea... since none of us are on a team anyways."

It was true, I had been offered a spot on The Teen Titans, but I had refused, because of one condition they had thrown in, I wasn't allowed to use my guns while I was fighting on the team. I had gotten pretty upset at that, and had refused promptly. Mom had been a little taken back by my answer, Dad was happy, he didn't really like The Titans.

Speedy had been on the Teen Titans before, but she had quit a little after Damian had, for reasons I didn't care about.

Super Kid's powers were unstable, plus her Dad was on the Teen Titans, so she had never been offered a spot on the Teen Titans.

I looked over at Speedy, I didn't like her, but I could live with her. Tim had been on my back lately about getting friends, and it was getting annoying. I sighed, "Oh heck with it, let's do it."

Speedy raised an eyebrow, "Seriousley?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm tired of getting paired up with Bird Boy all the time, maybe if I have a team then Dick'll leave me alone about taking Damian with me everywhere I go, and Tim'll get off my back about socializing."

Speedy shrugged, "I've been bored lately anyways."

We turned to Super Kid. She shrugged, "Never been on a team before, sounds kind of cool."

Valiant smiled, "Awesome, I just started a super hero team."

Speedy rolled her eyes, "OK, talking about it is cool, but don't we need head quarters?"

I thought for a second, and then a grin spread over my face, "I know just the place."

LATER THAT NIGHT, IN AN ABANDONED WAREHOUSE:

"Wayne Enterprises owns this warehouse, Bruce was going to have it torn down, but I think I could convince him not to." I said.

Speedy turned to me, glaring, "This place should be condemned, not rented out to kids. I mean, if you look at the ceiling wrong it'll probably collapse! If Super Kid breathed on the walls, they'd cave in."

I smirked, "Hey, we have the best construction crew money can't by."

Speedy perked up, "You're going to get Bruce to fix the place up?"

"No." I said, "We'll do it ourselves, Speedy, if you can fix those trick arrows, you can fix the electricity, Super Kid can do the heavy lifting necessary to get this place back into shape, and I can supply us with tools."

Speedy gave me a sarcastic look, "Oh yeah, fixing trick arrows goes right up there with rewiring a whole building and taking care of anything electronic we'd need."

"Great." I said, pretending not to notice the sarcasm.

Super Kid shrugged, "I can do the heavy lifting when it's needed, and I do know a little about construction."

I smiled, "Great, all we need now is a leader, any volunteers? No, oh well, I guess I could be the leader-"

"Oh no you don't." Speedy interrupted, "I can be the leader too."

I frowned, I would have snapped back, saying she was just a rookie, but after what I had seen tonight, I just couldn't. She might be new at this, but she was good at what she did. Almost as good as me and what I did.

I sighed, "Look, it's getting late, I'm tired, I'm sure you both are too. Let's meet some time tomorrow, can you two do lunch?"

Speedy nodded, "My place?"

"Sure." Super Kid said. Speedy wrote down her address, and we all went home.


	2. On A Whim

"I swear Dad, I didn't drink anything, I didn't let any needle touch my skin, and I have no piercings." Conan Kent said, giving her father a look that said, 'I am very tired of answering these questions.'

Conner Kent sighed, slouching in his chair, "Well, that's a relief."

"Dad, you ask me these questions every time I go out with Valiant. I'm starting to think you not only don't trust her, you don't trust me to just say no." Conan said, crossing her arms.

Conner closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I trust you Conan, it's just... I know how hard it is to say no to your friend, and I know if your friends say the right things, push the right buttons, and keep pestering you, you either end up going along with them, or get so fed up you fly them around town at two hundred miles an hour by hanging onto their feet."

Conan laughed, "I've been tempted to do that before with Valiant, but because of her decisions she makes for herself, not because she tried to get me to make the same ones. Valiant respects me and my decisions, and she has never handed me anything alcoholic."

Conner sighed in relief, "Good, now, it's not a school night, but you still need to go to bed."

Conan smiled, "Yes sir." She started to walk up the stairs to her room, but stopped halfway, "Dad, I forgot to mention, I'm going out to lunch with Justin Todd and Speedy, they want to try any make a team, is that OK?"

Conner raised an eyebrow, "You were never interested in a team before."

Conan shrugged, "There was never one that seemed to fit me. But I like Justin OK, and Speedy seems cool. I think I could get along with them."

Conner thought for a minute, and then shrugged, "Justin Todd is going to be there?"

She nodded, "We ended up busting a gang together tonight with Speedy and Robin, I thought you wanted me to be friends with Justin?"

Conner nodded, "I guess I did, before I learned what a little punk she is."

Conan smirked, "You still haven't forgiven her for tricking me into spray painting the bottom of that bridge, have you?"

"No, I haven't. You two got caught and now you have a criminal record." Conner said, frowning.

Conan shrugged, "Everyone has a criminal record in Gotham. Besides, Bruce bailed us out, remember?"

"And then Justin got grounded for a month." Conner said, "But her Dad pulled strings with her Mom and got it lifted to a week."

Conan smirked, "Cause he did worse when he was a kid, Justin told me what he wrote on the gym wall."

Conner turned a light shade of pink, a very light shade. "Writing stuff like that is horrible."

Conan shrugged, "It's Jason Todd we're talking about, that act was practically coming to school on Saturday to help repaint the gym."

Conner laughed a little, "Yeah, I guess your right. OK, you go and talk about the team, and if it takes off, I'm OK with it. If not, and you still wanna be part of a team, I can get you in with the Titans if you want."

Conan smiled, "That's nice Dad, but I still don't want to be part of that team. Sorry."

Conner shrugged, "Your decision."

Conan nodded, "Thanks." She walked upstairs to her room, pulled her black comforter with read guitar patters on it over her head, and fell asleep.

THE NEXT DAY, KYLER'S HOUSE:

Kyler had gotten the day off from Ollie, after explaining what Justin and Conan had talked her into. She had made her little brother and sister lunch, and had turned the TV onto Adventure Time, making sure that they would be preoccupied while the three teenagers talked about the new team.

The door bell rang, and Kyler answered it, letting in Conan, Justin, and some blonde headed toddler holding a pink bunny and wearing a coat that had floppy pink bunny ears on the hood. She raised an eyebrow at Justin, who said, "Mom said I had to babysit Kenya today."

Kenya immediately took off to watch Adventure Time as well, dragging the poor bunny by it's ear.

Kyler led the other teens into the kitchen, where three burgers were sitting on the table, with sodas and fries as well. Justin sat down with the others, and put cheese and ketchup on hers. Kyler put cheese, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, and mustard on hers. Conan put pepper, onions, and malt vinegar on hers.

Justin smiled after they had eaten a little, "OK, I got Bruce to let the warehouse stand, and gave me enough money to fix it up a little. Not to mention I talked him into letting me have the equipment that he doesn't use anymore. A few computers, some lab equipment, a few weapons, and any broken things I find scattered around the cave."

"What good are they if their broken?" asked Kyler taking a bite of her burger.

"Well, I figured you could fix them up, Bruce didn't really care about them enough to fix them. Just some broken hand cuffs, old grappling guns, explosives, you know, office supplies." She explained.

Kyler nodded, "I can fix those, I guess."

"Oh, and we're gonna need wheels, besides my motorcycle." Justin said.

"I can fly." Conan offered.

"I have a motorcycle too." Kyler added.

"OK, forget the new wheels. We're well supplied." Justin concluded.

"And publicity?" Conan asked, "We need to make sure we get recognized for what we do."

Justin smirked, "Leave that to me, the gangs my Dad controls can spread the word like wildfire."

"And a leader?" Conan asked, as Kenya trotted in and began to eat Justin's fries. "I mean, don't get me wrong, we're all talented, but I don't think any of us are fit to lead the team."

"What?" Asked Justin, clearly offended.

"I'm not?" Questioned Kyler.

"Uh oh." Kenya said.

Conan scratched the back of her head, "I mean, come on guys, Justin your great at what you do, but you make really risky decisions sometimes, and Kyler, your not a noob or anything, but your still new to this and your not really ready for so much responsibility, and me, well, despite the unstable circumstances of my... abilities, I'd just rather not be leader."

"Maybe we don't really need a leader." Said Kyler. Kenya crawled onto Justin's lap so as to eat her fries easier. "I mean who's running the Justice League these days?"

"Batman." Said Justin.

"Superman." Said Conan.

There was a slight pause. "Martian Manhunter." Kenya proclaimed, taking Justin's last French fry, and hopping down, and going back into the living room with the other kids.

Justin smirked at Kenya's retreating figure, and reached down to grab a French fry, but found none. She shrugged, and finished her burger.

Kyler looked at the clock, "It's getting late, in a few hours the sun'll be down, and we can make our first appearance, if you guys want. You'd have to go home and get changed, and we can meet at HQ.

"Speaking of HQ, we need a name for it, like The Bat cave, and The Watchtower. Which brings up the most important question of all, what are we gonna call ourselves?" Justin asked.

Kyler thought for a minute, "Street Kids maybe?"

Justin raised an eyebrow, "If we wanna be viewed as kids, sure."

"Just a suggestion." Kyler said, crossing her arms.

Justin smirked, "How about The Delinquents?"

"We're the good guys Justin." Kyler protested.

Conan spoke up, "The Justice Little League."

The other two froze, and turned to her, and Justin spoke up, "What?"

"The Justice Little League." She repeated, "We have Green Arrow," She pointed to Kyler, "Batman," She pointed to Justin, "And Superman." She said, pointing to herself, "Sounds like the Justice League to me."

"It's kind of catchy." Said Kyler.

Justin shrugged, "Fine, The Justice Little League it is then."

LATER THAT NIGHT:

The Black Hood, Speedy, and Super Kid stood up on a roof top, "Why are we in Gotham again?" Speedy questioned.

"Because, in this city, there are an average of ten gang fights, ninety muggings, and fifty deaths per night. Not to mention all the other illegal stuff like drug trade and slave trade." Black Hood said.

"Slave trade?" Asked Super Kid, "I thought that stopped in America after the civil war."

"It stopped being obvious and legal." Black Hood said, "But go to the right city, the right places, and the right dealers, and you can buy people."

"Mostly kids." Speedy said, frowning, "They tried to take my little brother and sister once."

"And you got them back?" Black Hood asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"You bought them back from the slave traders?" Super Kid guessed.

"No, I broke the door down, barged in, freed all the kids, drove my siblings home on my motorcycle, and anyone who tried to stop me either got a knock out arrow or a boxing glove arrow." Speedy said.

Black Hood chuckled, "Classic B and E."

"B and E?" Asked Super Kid, not understanding.

"Oh, I forgot, you don't know street talk, B and E stands for Breaking and Entering." Black Hood explained.

"Oh." Said Super Kid.

"So what are you planning on doing tonight Black Hood?" Speedy asked.

Black Hood looked up at Speedy, "Anything that pops up and comes our way."

As if on queue, police sirens blared from down the street, and several police cars sped down the street, chasing a red sports car that was going way to fast. Black Hood looked at the others, and smirked, "I've got an idea."

A FEW MOMENTS LATER:

Black Hood landed on the top of the car's hood, and the vehicle swerved, but she kept her balance, barley. She glared at the man behind the wheel, "Pull over."

The man took out a gun, but before he could even aim it at her, she jumped off, the man sighed in relief, and smirked, "Ha! Stupid kid!"

He turned his attention to the road, and saw a teenager standing in the middle of it, who made no gesture that she was going to move anytime soon. He drove faster. She still didn't move, and before he could slam his brakes or run her over, she ran to meet the vehicle, and punched the front of it. The front of the car crunched into and unimaginable shape, and the car flipped over her.

Speedy took out an arrow with a cable on one end, very long cable, and shot it across the street onto the side of a building, it hit it, and metal probes dug into the brick wall. Speedy quickly took the other end of the cable, and hooked it up to the apartment wall next to her, and did the same with another arrow. The car, still in mid air, hit the cables that were lined across the street, and the cables groaned under the cars weight, but didn't give. The car leaned against them, and the driver screamed, scared out of his pants. Super Kid grabbed the door, and tore it off it's hinges, and then grabbed the driver, dragging him out as the police pulled up.

The officers took the man and put him in the back of a squad car.

"Not bad." Black Hood said, "For a first appearance. I have some small complaints in performance, but that can wait. We'll go over the rough spots some other time."

Speedy raised an eyebrow, "Who died and made you leader?"

Justin smirked, "I died. Once. It was kind of fun. So yeah, I died, and now I'm making myself leader."

Speedy glared, "I thought we decided no leaders."

"I never agreed to that." Black Hood argued.

Super Kid cleared her throat, "Uh guys, maybe we shouldn't worry about leaders, we seemed to do fine without one tonight."

Justin groaned, "We need a leader, we all know we need one in some form or another. You're both inexperienced, just admit that you are. I'm the only one here with the training to be leader."

Speedy glared at her for a long time, "Fine." She growled out, "But the minute you're proven unfit to be leader, don't think for one minute I won't take your job."

Justin nodded, "Fine."

Super Kid sighed in relief, "That's one battle of wills out of the way."

Justin smirked, about to say something back, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a girl with shaggy white hair. Her hair wasn't what stood out about her really though, it was her clothes. Just as Justin turned to get a better look, the girl was gone.

Speedy saw her staring, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Justin frowned at the spot the girl had been, "Not sure... but I'll find out."


	3. Snow Jackson: Necromancer

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I nodded as Speedy blocked Super Kid's punch, they were steadily improving. Speedy was getting more accurate, and Super Kid was slowly yet steadily learning how to fight without her powers. Her powers were on and off, if they didn't want to work, they didn't work. Most people saw that as a hazard, something that was undependable. I saw it as an opportunity to teach her how to fight without them. After all, even the greatest of heroes could get dependent on their powers.

There was just one thing wrong with the team. We didn't work well together. There was me, the leader, Justin Todd. My temper was huge, and I could hardly control it at times. There was Super Kid, she hardly knew anything about real life, and was almost completely unemotional. Then, last and in my book the least, was Speedy. Her temper clashed with mine at any given moment. We had a lot of work to do. Only problem was, I didn't really want to use team work. I hated Speedy and she hated me, so why work together?

Super Kid often had to get in between us when we argued. Team work seemed almost hopeless, but if I wanted this, I was gonna have to bend over backwards to make it work.

Besides, we finally had HQ looking nice. We had the computers put in, a really awesome coach, a mini fridge and microwave. Me and Super Kid had made some really nice looking counters and shelves for the kitchen. The computer room, living room, kitchen, and conference room took up the first floor. The other five floors we had cleaned out, and put anything that we wanted to keep in the storage room, the last room on the top floor. The stairs were a pain to climb, so I was saving up for an elevator.

We were considering using the second floor for our rooms incase we had to crash here sometimes, but we were just glad floor one was done with. Super Kid charged in to knock Speedy off her feet, but at the last minute Speedy side stepped, and flipped Super Kid.

She landed with a thud, groaning. "How's that super strength?" I asked.

She stood up, "Been gone all morning, can't even get a lock on it." She mumbled.

I nodded, "Whatever. I over heard Bruce on the phone last night. Zutara said that there was an immense serge of black magic from down town Gotham last night, but she couldn't exactly pin point it. Bruce, not knowing that I over heard-"

"You mean eavesdropped?" Speedy interrupted.

I frowned, "Over heard, about it, and told us all to stay out of that area of Gotham. He isn't looking into it for whatever reason, so maybe we should."

"An immense surge of black magic?" Asked Speedy.

I nodded.

"And you want us to go chasing after it?" She questioned, "Black magic?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize we had pansies that were afraid of magic on our team." I smirked.

She glared at me, "Why are you talking about yourself?"

"Why are you talking to yourself?" I countered.

"I was just making sure you knew the risks, oh fearless leader." She mocked.

"May I remind you, you agreed to let me become leader." I snapped.

"May I remind you, as soon as you slip up, I'm taking your self appointed job." She said.

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

"Whatever you say, Robin Hood!" I shouted.

"Thank you so very much copper top!" She yelled.

"Your have red hair too!" I said, getting in her face.

"Yeah but I dye it, and it's only because Ollie makes me!" She said, getting in my face.

"Ginger poser!" I yelled.

"Your one to talk Marshal!" She snapped.

"Enough!" Said Super Kid, getting in between us, "You're acting like immature children. Stop fighting each other and focus on fighting crime."

She pushed us away from each other gently, and we calmed down. I glared at Speedy. "We'll go down town with or without you."

She glared right back, "I'll come Todd. But not because of you."

I smirked, "Good, because I'm not going because of you."

We headed down town and split up, taking com links to make sure we could speak to each other. I jumped over a roof top, landing silently, and then felt a presence behind me. I whirled around, drawing a gun, and caught the flicker of a girl with white hair and strange clothes. In the blink of an eye, she was gone. I put my finger on my com link, thinking about telling the others, but decided against it. I had seen her before (Last Chapter). I frowned, what did this mean? Was she the cause of the black magic or just one of the effects of it? Could she hear me? Was she still there, just invisible?

"Who ever you are, please listen." I said. "My name is Justin Todd, and I don't know why you keep on appearing before me, do you need help?"

I felt something touch my leg. I jumped, pointing the gun in that direction. "Show yourself." I snapped, "If you want my help show yourself.

Something touched my shoulder. I spun around, kicking the air. "Enough of this game." I growled, "If you don't show yourself or say something, then I'll start shooting!"

I heard a sound, something very faint, I couldn't tell what it was. I cursed, "Talk louder!" I said. No answer. I waited, there was still no voice, no touch, no nothing.

My hand went to my com. link, "Guys, I just got some evidence, probably not much, but something. Keep patrolling, I'll meet you back at HQ when your done."

"Got it." Said Super Kid.

"Whatever." Grumbled Speedy.

I frowned, heading back to HQ, I was gonna have to do something about Speedy's attitude. I know that she wanted to be leader, and she flinched at the though of me being in charge, but she didn't have to broadcast it every chance she got. I was the leader, she needed to get over it and move on with her life. She didn't like me, I didn't like her, but at least I kept it to myself for the most part. Speedy didn't.

I got back to HQ, and found the mic. Damian had put on me. He was home tonight, so I know he'd be listening. "Damian, I know your there. I need the recordings from tonight as evidence, please send them to me from the Bat computer."

I waited a few minutes, and an email popped up.

Justin,

I have sent the recording.

Damian

I smirked, boy of few words but many deeds.

I downloaded the recording, and played it, fast forwarding past me and Speedy's fight. I kept going until I reached me and the white haired girls conversation. I cut out everything except the part of apparent silence when I had heard that small noise. Or at least, I thought I heard it. My head said it might have just been something far off in the distance, having nothing to do with the girl, but my gut told me it wasn't.

I turned the volume up, and played it. I heard the voice, a little clearer. I typed furiously at the computer, enhancing the sound, and turning up the volume before playing it again.

"Help Justin."

I jumped up, she new my name, my identity. I frowned, and then deleted the file. There was no way that the others would believe me. A ghost girl knowing the Black Hood's identity? Yeah, even I would find that hard to believe, and I live with a man who's died before, a man who's been to several dimensions, a girl who's died before, and several other people who have done supposed impossible things.

Speedy and Super Kid walked in, "How was your evidence?" Asked Super Kid.

"Dead end." I said, "I knew it was a long shot. How was you two's search?"

"Also a dead end." Speedy said, "So just out of curiosity, what was your dead end clue?"

I shrugged, "A noise I heard. Stupid I know. Just forget it."

I turned off the computer, "I'm going home for the night, see you tomorrow."

I told them I was going home, but I went downtown again, after contacting Damian for a little help.

"Why don't you ask Speedy or Super Kid?" He asked.

"They aren't experienced for this type of mission, it's strictly stealth. Come on Robin, I need your help."

He caved then, he was a sucker for feeling like he was so awesome he was constantly needed.

I got down town, him by my side, and said, "You already heard the recording asking for help didn't you?"

He nodded, "I got curious."

"Of course you did. So where do you wanna start?" I asked.

He shrugged, and said, "You know when Father finds out, we're all in trouble."

I shrugged, "I'm not afraid of Batman."

"Yeah, your afraid of your mother." He mocked.

"You have no idea how scary she can be." I defended.

He snorted, "Whatever, so, you need to try and make contact again."

I nodded, "Right... how do I do that?"

He shrugged, "I'm not a ghost expert."

I groaned, "Should we call an exorcist?"

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around, no one was standing there, but the grip tightened. "Robin, it's touching me."

He turned, and stared at the spot where it must have been. "Get your filthy hand off my sister."

The grip tightened even more, getting pretty uncomfortable. "You're making her angry."

He snorted, "I'm not afraid of a ghost. Now whoever you are, either let her go and tell us what you want, or I'll make you wish you were never born."

"Technically it's already dead." I sassed.

He frowned, "Tt."

The ghost flickered in front of me, "Help." She said, and then vanished, but the touch remained. I carefully put my hand onto the shoulder, and felt the hand. I gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Tell me what to do." I said. "And then consider it done."

She suddenly yanked me, really hard, and next thing I know, I'm in a room made up entirely of concrete, and my hand flew to my communicator, "Robin?"

"Black Hood, where are you? You vanished." He asked.

I looked around, "Not sure, but there appears to be no immediate danger."

"How can I get to you?" He asked.

The ghost suddenly appeared before me, see through, but constant. She didn't flicker, didn't falter, but wasn't solid. "Your friend can't reach you." She said, her voice was mid tone, unusual for a girl her age, and she spoke at a constant speed, not fast or slow.

"Why not?"

"Because... this room is technically nonexistent. It is within my own mind."

I nodded, "Why am I here?"

She turned towards the other wall, and a low table appeared out of no where. She waved her hand again, and a book appeared, along with a bowl and several containers. "I was cursed many centuries ago to spend eternity wandering the earth, neither living nor dead. However, I have searched for years and I have discovered a spell that could return me to normal."

"Black Hood?" Asked Damian, "How can I get to you? Answer me!"

"You can't." I said, "Creepy magic stuff, just trust me, OK? Hopefully I'll be out of here soon."

"What's going on?" He asked.

"I'll explain in a moment or so." I said, and turned it off.

I walked over to the table, kneeling down, "What do you need me to do?"

"What the book says, I can't touch anything in this space." She explained, gracefully walking over to me. "I will instruct you Justin Todd."

I nodded, and read the instructions, adding the ingredients as she instructed me which vials and how much. Then, the last ingredient, blood from a human virgin. I looked up at her, eyebrow raised.

"I understand if your hesitant." She said.

I scoffed, grabbing my Kris knife and holding it to my palm, "How much?"

She looked at me sadly, "A lot." I sighed, and pressed the knife harder.

"How much?"

"Two quarts." She said softly.

I sighed, and then drove the knife threw my palm without a second thought, grinding my teeth. I watched as the blood drizzled into the bowl, and I made the cut wider, my teeth grinding together so hard, I thought they would break. The pain was, well, pain. It hurt, and I tried to not think about it, to focus on Snow and not the blood that was practically pouring into the bowl. Finally, Snow said, "That is enough."

I yanked my hand away, cradling it to my chest, as she waved her hand, and pages in the book flipped rapidly. It stopped on one page, and she said, "Read the inscription."

I looked at the page, and found my self getting dizzy, but never the less, I leaned closer as my head started to spin, and started reading the words that were pretty much nonsense to me.

"Ischia, Ischia, Ischia, ryfir, ryfir, ryfir." I chanted, "Kyfray, kyfray, kyfray, lignot, lignot, lignot." The mixture in the bowl started spinning rapidly, and then folding over itself, waves erupting as the water churned back and forth, and I fell back, getting out of the way as Snow took my place, leaning over the bowl.

I backed up to the other wall, and the contents exploded, coating Snow's no longer see threw figure. A horrible smell entered the room, and I covered my nose. Figures appeared in the room, faces covered by the hoods on their long white cloaks. They grabbed Snow, and yanked her in the center of the room, blocking her from my view as they covered her with their bodies. Snow suddenly gasped, as if she had been dunked under water and had come above, needing air.

They backed away from her, bowing as she stood up straight and tall. She looked the same, but solid. I might be wrong though, my vision was getting pretty blurry. I looked down at my wound, and whimpered slightly at the pain that I had just realized was still there. The figures blurred, and vanished, as Snow turned to me, walking over, and spoke again, "Thank you Justin Todd."

She carefully took my palm, and held it gently with one hand, and covered the wound with another. I watched in wonder as the pain faded, and she lifted her palm, revealing a nasty red scar, but it would fade in time. She helped me up, I was practically being carried by her since the blood loss had left me really dizzy and weak. I felt like I could barley move, I looked down at my skin, to find it even paler than usual. I shivered at the weak feeling taking over my body as she held me steady, "I owe you my life." She said.

"Take a number." I groaned out, thinking about all the other people I had saved in back alleys and from gun point. All the people I had saved and the people I had put behind bars. It was a slow process, but in the end, it all added up.

She chuckled, "I suppose it's nothing new to you, saving a life."

I nodded, "First time I had to do that to save one though." My head started spinning, either that or it was the room. "I think I'm going to be sick." She rubbed my back softly, clockwise.

We suddenly appeared in downtown Gotham, Damian and my team a few yards off. Facing the other direction. "Robin." I mumbled.

He whirled around, and quicker than I could blink, had the end of his sword pointed at Snow's throat.

"Don't!" I snapped, holding onto her tighter as Gotham started spinning. I groaned, "I think I need to lay down."

Snow set me down gently, and Damian put his sword away as the others walked over. Glad to know I'm so worth the rush.

Speedy crossed her arms, "What happened to going home for the night?"

"Changed my mind." I said.

"Nice." She snorted.

"What's important is that she's safe, and solved the mystery." Super Kid spoke up.

Suddenly, a shadow passed over us, and we all looked up to see Batman swing down, and land in front of us. He narrowed his eyes, "What part of 'stay out of downtown Gotham' did you not understand?"

I spoke up, "I put that sentence in the ignore part of my mind, along with 'Don't kick Tim's shin when he says something Kenya would scoff at', why?"

His glare made Speedy, Super Kid, and Snow shudder. "Justin-"

"This is the part where you ground me for three weeks, and then I get Dad to lift the punishment to one week." I said, holding my head.

His eyes rested on my palm, "Your hurt."

"Snow healed me." I said.

His eyes went to her, "She's what caused the black magic surge?"

I nodded, "She didn't mean to, she needed to get attention so she could get help. I'll send in a report about it all, but first... I think... I need to... sleep." I mumbled, it was getting hard to focus, and I was getting sleepy.

Batman sighed, "I'll take you home, but what about your friend?"

Every one was silent, looking at Snow. Super Kid spoke up, "You guys have lots of room-"

"I have enough kids." Batman said, ending the idea.

"I live in a two room apartment... and Dad wouldn't go for it." Super Kid confessed.

"My apartment is full." Speedy said.

Every one though for a few moments, until Speedy asked, "Couldn't she stay at HQ? She could sleep on the couch for now, until we can get a room ready. There's food there, and we have a spot open on the team."

Snow smiled, "I would be honored."

Super Kid smiled back, "Think about your alias tonight. I'll take you there."

They took off and Batman picked me up, carrying me to the bat mobile. "This is so embarrassing." I mumbled, half awake.

"It sucks for me too kid." He said, setting me in passenger seat.

I frowned, crossing my arms, and leaning back in the seat, "Whatever Batsy." I closed my eyes, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

BATMAN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I watched her as she fell asleep, and sighed, rubbing my eyes under my cowl. She was such a little punk, just like Jason had been, still was, actually. Maybe I should hang her from a roof top by her leg. No, wouldn't work on her, I taught her that intimidation technique. Thugs were so much easier than kids, thugs spilled after you rearranged their face. Kids, you didn't have that option. Especially when they weren't _your _kids.

Her Mom was the only one who made since, but she figured since Justin was in our family, we should be glad that's all that was wrong with her, and she was convinced Justin was just going through a faze that would pass eventually. Yeah, good luck, that's what I thought about Jason. Her Dad just didn't care, to proud that she was acting just like him. As long as she didn't mouth off to him, he was fine with it. Eventually, she would get to high and mighty and mouth off to him. I really hoped I was there to see her face when he back handed her.

I sighed, the only normal one in the Bat family was Kenya, and _that _wasn't going to last to long. Although Justin was a big pain in the neck sometimes, I was proud of her. Fifteen years old, and already the leader of a group that showed a lot of potential. I parked in the Bat cave, and lifted her out. Jason looked up from cleaning his gun, and his eyes bulged.

"What happened?" He asked, getting up and rushing over.

"She didn't say exactly, but she'll be fine, just blood loss." I said.

Jason looked relieved, taking Justin, "Thanks Bruce."

He walked up the stairs, and I followed silently, curious. He laid her down on her bed in her room, and took her boots off. Setting them down, brushed her bangs out of her face. The kid needed a trim. He leaned down, kissing her forehead, "Night little bird." He whispered, taking the mask off her face.

He turned to see me in the doorway, smiling slightly, "What?" He asked, replacing his smile and fatherly look with his normal one.

"Nothing at all." I said, walking away. Little bird, I used to call him that._ 'Yeah.' _I thought, _'Justin is trouble, but with Jason, she'll be alright.'_


	4. I Quit!

Snow fit right into the team. She took to training right away, and had good reflexes for hand to hand combat. She told us all about her powers, she was self trained in several area's of dark magic, including hexes, curses, and minor necromancy. I liked Snow, unlike Speedy she respected me as leader, and didn't question me when I gave an order, even if it sounded weird to her.

Currently, we were scoping out a crime scene, and I was using my detective training, courtesy of Dad, to try and uncover anything I could. Unfortunately, Speedy didn't get why.

"This crime scene is a week old, the cops found nothing no matter how hard they looked. If they looked hard, and didn't find anything, then they probably destroyed any evidence that _was_ here. The scene is contaminated Black Hood, give up on it!" She snapped.

I frowned, looked at the floor, and saw a small tear in the carpet. "Maybe not." I took out a small practical camera, and snapped a quick picture. I looked around a little more, taking pictures of the whole place. I then walked over to the desk drawers, and opened them, taking out a phone book, and looked up at Snow, "Do you have any spells that can show us what happened?"

She thought for a moment, "No. There's a spell that can send you back in time, but it's very risky."

"How so?" I asked.

Well, The space-time continuum travels at a very fast pace. Trying to locate a specific moment in time is-

In English. I interrupted.

She paused, "Sending you back in time to a particular time is like trying to hit a small bullet with an even smaller bullet."

I sighed, "Ok, I'll just have to work with what I've got." I took out a planner, and a cell phone. The crime was that a man, Rift Shaw was shot dead in his apartment. The apartment we were in. I shoved the phone into my pocket, and said, "I've got what I need, let's go."

We headed back to HQ, and I took out the cell phone, scrolling through his contacts. Mom, Dad, Sister, Uncle Al, Aunt Ruth. Mostly relatives. Did this guy have no social life? Finally, I saw three names. Ruth Anderson, Jimmy, and Hal. Who put a last and first name? I smirked, opening the planner and scanning for anything around the month of death. There were several 'Dinner with Ruth's. Who was Ruth? A girlfriend?

I smirked, turning to Speedy, "Speedy, we've got a lead." I showed her the phone number.

"Ruth Anderson?" She asked.

"When some one writes down the first and last name, is means they either hold them in high respect, or fear." I said.

Super Kid, typing hastily on the computer said, "The murder wasn't the average one. Nothing was taken, guy wasn't involved in any gangs, and he's one of the few people in Gotham now days that are actually clean."

"People don't bathe in Gotham?" Snow questioned.

"No, clean as in no criminal record, no relatives with criminal back ground, he worked at a fancy restaurant in town, he parked cars. In short, the guy was a nobody." Super Kid explained. "Wouldn't make any since to kill him unless it was for money, or a robbery. But the guy doesn't have money, he made enough to get by and that was it; and nothing was stolen. The whole murder just doesn't make since."

"It was in Gotham City." Speedy pointed out, "A lot of people go around shooting people for no reason."

"True." I agreed, "But I have a weird feeling." I pulled up the picture of the tear.

"So?" Asked Speedy, "The carpet has a rip. Not that uncommon."

"Take a closer look." I said, "That tear isn't that old, I'd say a week at best." I smirked, "And the murder was a week ago."

"It was made by a high heel." She said.

I raised my eyebrow, and she continued, "My Mom once ripped the carpet at out old apartment when she was wearing heels. The tear is in the shape of the end of a high heel, and you can tell she skid a little because the carpet is pulled up away from the floor."

"Towards the area where the body is at." I said.

She smiled, "And he only knows one girl who isn't related to him."

"One who he either respects, or fears." I said.

"Ruth Anderson." We chorused.

We turned around to see Super Kid and Snow starring at us. "What?" Asked Speedy.

"For two people who hate each other, you work great together." Super Kid said.

I rolled my eyes, "Super Kid, search for Ruth Anderson."

She typed hastily, and eventually looked up, "She's a waitress at an Olive Garden in Gotham City, she has a criminal charge."

"From what crime?" Asked Snow.

"She was accused of direct assault about ten years back. They tried to press charges, but there wasn't enough evidence, so unfortunately they had to drop the case." Super kid said, frowning.

Speedy narrowed her eyes, "Which means she's guilty."

Snow nodded, "I suppose."

I frowned, standing up and pulling my black helmet hood thing on, "Let's roll."

Super Kid flew, carrying Snow, who had picked out the name White Angel. I followed the directions in the address book, and soon we were in her apartment. She was asleep on the bed. She looked to be doing OK for some one who just lost a boyfriend. Well, I'm guessing she was his girlfriend, they had a lot of dinner dates.

She didn't have a bunch of tissues piled up in the waste basket, so she hadn't cried to much. She didn't have a bottle of antidepressants. No picture albums laying out of her and Rift. So she hadn't been going threw picture albums. She hadn't really reacted to this news at all.

I looked next to her bed, and saw a book labeled diary. I smirked, what was she, in second grade? Never the less, I took the book.

Speedy and Super Kid went through her closet, and Speedy finally said, "Here's the proof, high heels, with threads of carpet from his apartment."

I smirked, opening her diary to the latest entry.

I killed Rift on accident. He found out I cheated on him, and he snapped, he started yelling, and he pulled a gun. He tried to shoot me. I tripped, trying to get away, and he missed me when he shot. I grabbed the gun, I didn't even know what I was doing. I shot him in self defense. The cops didn't find any evidence, so I'm in the clear. I wish I hadn't shot him, I wish I hadn't cheated on him. I feel so... guilty.

I frowned, "And here's all the confession we need."

They took it, reading it over, frowning. Speedy sighed, "We can't turn her in."

I raised an eyebrow, "She killed a man, and didn't turn herself in."

"It was self defense, and she got scared. So, she lied. He tried to kill her." Speedy defended.

"Doesn't matter, she should still stand trial for what she did." I argued. "Or are you going against my command?"

She glared at me, "That right there is what I can't stand about you Justin Todd. When something doesn't go your way, you immediately duck into the leadership thing rather than fight your battle."

I frowned, standing up, clenching my fists. "You think I can't fight my own battle?"

"Black Hood, you need to get over yourself. We get it, we all get that you're good at what you do, but what you do is be the biggest self absorbed jerk on the planet." She snapped. Ruth stirred, hearing us, but I didn't care.

"I'm the leader; you're supposed to do what I say." I ground out.

"Just because you're the leader doesn't mean you're always right." She growled, Ruth sat up, fully awake.

"Who are you people?" She whispered. I ignored her.

"I'm the leader because I'm the only one here who can be!"

"I could be leader too!" She snapped.

"You don't have the experience!"

"You don't either, you have no leadership skills!"

"Yes I do, I've led this team without flaw since I became leader!" I snapped.

"Which was like, three weeks ago!"

"And in those three weeks, we've put fifty thugs, pick pockets, and other street scum behind bars. I'm trying to make her pay for murder and you wanna let her off the hook!" Ruth screamed, and Super Kid tried to calm her down.

"I did better work than this working alone!" She snapped, "I was sending five guys a night to the police station, and two of them always ended up in jail!"

"If this team is such a disappointment to you, why don't you just leave!" I screamed, Super Kid and Snow recoiled, and Snow put her hand on Ruth's forehead, and she fell asleep again.

Super Kid stepped foreward, "Guys, stop this-"

"You think I haven't considered it?" Speedy snapped. "I've wanted to leave since day one! You were so full of yourself you thought you were the best! Super Kid was always charging in first, taking all the hits and hardly letting me do anything! And when you went off to get Snow and save her, you did it yourself! You have to trust your team and that's something neither of you did!"

"You didn't have the skills for that mission!" I protested.

"Yeah well you didn't have to lie." Super Kid whispered, and then spoke clearly, "And I took most of those hits because I'm the indestructible one, every hit I take is one you don't have to."

"You think we can't handle it?" I snapped.

"No, but-"

"The only reason I stuck around was because I-"

"What?" I yelled, getting angrier and angrier with each sentence, it's like no one was on my side at all, and I hadn't done anything wrong. "Why did you stay if you were so miserable?"

"Because I believed in you!" She screeched, "I believed that Justin Todd would come in and make everything better, I believed that you had it in you to be our leader. Sure I was jealous, but deep down, I believed."

She shoved me, "But not anymore, I wouldn't even spit in your direction!"

I didn't shove back, I asked, "Did we really think this would work?"

"What?" Asked Snow.

"DID WE REALLY THINK THIS WOULD WORK!" I screamed, making sure it was loud enough that the stars could hear. "Did we really think this team would turn out how we wanted it to? We have a leader who has a temper the size of a small country, an archer who can't follow orders without question to save her life, a kryptonian with unstable powers who is basically a mini Switzerland, and a necromancer who has never fought before in her life." Every one was silent for a long time.

"When you put it that way-" Started Super Kid.

"It sounds really stupid." Finished Snow quietly.

"I've got a better question." Said Speedy, "Why are we still here?"

Without another word, we all left.

I went back to the bat cave, and sat down at the computer, randomly typing and reading as I went. I sighed after a long time, and slouched in my chair. "It never would have worked out anyway."

"What wouldn't have?" Asked Mom, walking over in her Blue Jay costume.

"The team." I explained.

"Oh." She said quietly, "I'm sorry Justin."

I shrugged, "I was avoiding the inevitable."

She sighed, "That team could have been... the greatest team since the Teen Titans. They called again by the way."

I raised an eyebrow, "I told them no."

"They wanted to apologize for insulting you. They realize they should trust you not to accidently kill some one. If your team is done, maybe you should consider it." She said, handing me a small business card.

I took it, and read it over, a phone number, and the two words, Teen Titans. I sighed, thinking about JLL (Justice Little League). What did I do?


	5. Second Try

SUPER KID'S POINT OF VEIW:

I sighed, pulling my black hoodie on over my shirt, and walked into me and Dad's apartment, hoping he wasn't there. He was though.

"I thought you were out with your friends investigating some murder in Gotham City." He said. I sighed, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a soda, I really didn't want to talk about it. Unlike Speedy who thought the team was doomed from the start, I really had high hopes for the team. I really hoped we could have been a team. A good team, one that had solid team work, a leader who always made the right decisions, and flawless tactics. I really had hoped we could have been the next Justice League.

Dad raised an eyebrow, "What happened?"

I sighed, "The team broke up. It just... wasn't working."

"Speedy and Justin." He said, it wasn't a question.

"Yeah." I said, though that wasn't the whole story. I had played a part, we all had played a part. I guess none of us were ready to make a team.

Dad sighed, "Well, the Teen Titans is always open to you."

I shook my head, "No thanks Dad."

He sighed, handing me a piece of paper, a phone number and the words Teen Titans on it. "You should at least think about it, your to young to get into the Justice League, the Teen Titans is the only team that's making an offer."

I sighed, shoving it into my pocket.

He leaned back in his chair, "You really wanted the team to work out, didn't you?"

I nodded, "It could have been something."

He shrugged, "Something else could come along. Your young Conan, things come and go, don't take them to seriously."

I looked up, frowning, "Maybe... maybe some things should be taken seriously, regardless of age." I jumped to the door, and ran out, flying to Star City and Kyler's apartment. I knew the others wanted this just as much as me, and I was going to have to bend over backwards to attempt to pull this off.

SPEEDY'S POINT OF VEIW:

I sighed, looking over the letter I had just been sent from some one who I had made it clear to that I could not have any contact with. My father. I rubbed my eyes, glaring at the top of my closet where The Black Guardian rested in a titanium case with three pad locks keeping it locked up tight. Even after you managed to get those off, you had to enter a code on the digital key pad on the side of it. The digital key pad itself was pretty much impossible to locate, you had to press the right side of the handle to get it to activate.

It had been in that case for five months. Five months. It felt like a life time ago. A life time ago that I had _nearly _killed the man who had been torturing my little sister Olivia. A life time ago that I had discovered who my father really was. A life time ago that I _had _killed the thug who had been torturing my little brother Austin. A life time ago that I had let my father take the fall. A life time ago that I had busted him out of prison, risking my family, life, but not Speedy's identity. Well if I was caught, yeah, they would have eventually found out that I wasn't just Black Guardian. A life time ago that I had done the hardest thing in the world, I had gently pushed him out of my life, telling him I would never risk my family's safety for him again so he had to leave me alone. I had made it clear that under no circumstances was he ever to contact me, even if he desperately needed my help. A life time ago that I had quit the Teen Titans, partly because of my father, partly because of myself, but mostly because I couldn't handle everything that was going on. But mostly, because I was disgusted with myself that I had done all of that. Five months ago I had done all that, and today, I was still disgusted with myself for every thing on that long list. Every single thing.

I looked back to the letter. I knew the request was a serious one. I knew what I would be risking by accepting. _He _knew what I would be risking by accepting. I knew that I shouldn't accept, my family would be at more risk than ever. However, the offer was tempting to me. Which made me all that more disgusted with myself. I had put my life in danger hundreds of times, that I had no regret about. I had put my family in danger hundreds of times, that was what I had regrets about. If I died, I didn't really care at this point. I curled up into a small ball, staring at the letter.

I was despicable. I really was. What kind of dirty _scum _endangered their own family so many times, and was tempted, actually _tempted_, with an offer that would double, if not triple that danger. Apparently scum like me. I was scum. I felt like the worst person in the world. OK, maybe not the worst but defiantly somewhere around the top fifty. In short, I felt awful. I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. No, I wasn't hooked on smoking like most people who did it, I smoked once a month to remind myself why I had quit the gang. Lately, I had taken to smoking when ever I felt like scum. I had gotten used to the taste by now, I still didn't like it but I could now stand it without coughing, or even making a face. Ollie knew I did it, but was fine after I told him why. I just left out the second reason. Mom didn't know, if she did, she didn't say.

Super Kid walked into my room, "Get up, your coming with me."

"How did you get in here?" I asked, standing up and shoving the cigarettes back into my pocket.

"A super knows no bounds." She said, and dragged me out of my room, and out the window, flying with me as fast as she could.

"I thought your flying hadn't been working right last night!" I shouted up to her above the roaring of the wind in my ears.

"Yeah... funny thing, when I really needed it, it just all sort of clicked into place." She shouted down. Her powers were perfect now? She had complete control?

"Perfect." I grumbled, I couldn't hear it above the wind in my ears, but I was sure she did with her super hearing.

She flew us the HQ, and pulled me inside, where Justin and Snow were standing. "Super Kid, you told me Speedy was in trouble." Justin said, frowning.

Snow spoke up, "You told me Justin was in trouble."

I frowned, "What's this all about?"

She sighed. "Guys, we have a chance, a good chance to be the greatest hero's this world has ever seen. We all know this. We all wanted this."

"But it didn't work out." I said, "Conan you know that we're just to different."

"Look at the Justice League!" Conan shouted, "There the most different people on earth! Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Hawk Woman, Zutara, Green Arrow, the other Green lantern, Hawk Man, Vigilante, Wild Cat, Booster Gold, Plastic Man, Question, Blue Beetle, and all the rest! They have almost nothing in common, except they want to protect people. If they can do it, so can we."

I frowned, "If you guys want to, go ahead, but count me out of it."

I turned to leave, but Snow grabbed my arm, "We need every one if this is going to work."

I sighed, "Sorry, I can't." I wasn't going to join this team again. Justin had put me down enough, and I was sick of it. I couldn't work under a leader who gave me no respect, Justin Todd was no exception to that.

THIRD PERSON'S POINT OF VEIW:

Snow reached into her pocket, pulling out a piece of paper, "A hero named Zutara gave me this tonight. He asked if I would be interested in it." Every one looked at the piece of paper. It had a phone number on it, and the words Teen Titans. "She said it would be a good opportunity, she offered to teach me."

Super Kid took out one as well, "Dad gave me this when he found out about our team disbanding. He said that the Teen Titans were my only other option besides not joining a team."

Speedy looked up, and pulled about five of those little business cards from her pocket, "Gar sends one every week. I told him about our team, he didn't care."

Justin suddenly spoke up, "They knew it wouldn't work out. They weren't surprised at all when they found out."

Everyone was silent as Justin continued, "From the beginning they've had us written off as children who aren't ready to make a team work. I don't know about you guys but underestimation doesn't sit well with me, not my style."

She pulled out her card, "Again, I don't know about the rest of you, but I've never wanted to join the Titans. It just never felt right. My dad didn't have the best experience with them, and even before I found out he was my father he told me about his time with them. I suppose you could say I was raised to be Anti-Titan. Make that into whatever you want to, but I for one would jump at any chance to prove them wrong."

She finally looked up at the group, "I might have been a bad leader, maybe the worst there's ever been in this business, but I can honestly say with no guilt, that all I ever wanted by making this team was to make my dad proud. That was the only reason. I never had any of your concerns in mind. I never cared about how much the team affected the crime rate. I never even cared if we lasted ten years or ten days. The only reason I really kept showing up to this run down ware house was because I could see in my dad's eyes that he was proud. If any of you want to get angry at that and say I'm pathetic or a terrible person for that, I don't care. I didn't really care about any of you really. Truth be told, a few weeks ago if we were kidnapped by the Joker and he told me I could either save myself or you three, I would have chosen myself for two reasons. One, I didn't care about Kyler or Snow. Two, Conan could have survived so the only person I gave a Flying Grayson about wouldn't have died. Might have gotten really hurt, but wouldn't have died. If any of you thought differently about me I didn't care."

Speedy glared at her for a few seconds and then sighed, "To tell you the truth, I hated every one of you, and I was seriously considering sucking up my pride and crawling back to the Titans." None of the others saw it, but Justin saw in her eyes that there was something more Speedy wasn't telling them. She ignored it for now, but she would put some thought to it later. "I probably would have done the same thing Justin. Except I wouldn't have cared if Super Kid survived."

Super Kid nodded, "The only reason I kept showing up here was because I wanted to make my dad proud to. Wanted to make a name for myself, wanted to move out from under his shadow and walk in the sun so to speak. I would have done the same thing, except maybe I would have just saved Justin... probably."

Snow shrugged, "The only one I care about on this team is Justin. I doubt some one like the Joker would faze me, but I didn't really care at all. Only reason I cared about Justin was because I felt indebted to her. She _did _save my life after all. I planned to stick around until I repaid my dept, and then leave."

Justin broke in, "Which is exactly why the team didn't work. Speedy was ready to kick me out first chance she got, Super Kid was always the voice of neutrality, so dedicating so, that I just wanted to get a kryptonian knife and slit her throat out!" Justin said, she wasn't speaking in a neutral tone anymore, she was packing as much frustration and anger into her voice as possible. "Snow was ready to split and I just really didn't care about any of you at all. But now, after all that we went through in those few weeks as a team, I still don't."

Every one frowned, but couldn't argue with it, they didn't really either. "But." Justin continued, "I still want to make this team work. Not because I like you," She looked at Snow "Not because I like being a leader," She looked at Speedy. "Not because I want to be on a team," She looked at Super Kid "But because I hate being underestimated and treated like a child, especially by people who don't even know me." She snapped, ripping her card into pieces and tossing the fragments to the ground.

"And if I want to prove them wrong, which I really want to do, I have to dedicate myself to this team. I'm not asking any of you to do the same. I'll recruit thugs off the street if I get desperate enough. I don't want any of you, if I had my choice for a team, none of you, except maybe Super Kid, would be on the list. I know every one says that I don't care about anything, and I treat everything like a game. Well, mostly that's because of how I was raised. Some people would say that makes me untrustworthy, but the only thing I care about is this job, and my family. Luckily for me the two are wound very closely together. And because that's all I care about, because I never have to worry about any of my family being vulnerable, that I'm the only choice for leader. Speedy, you could do it, I have no doubt about that. But your family is to important, and you shouldn't risk them. Super Kid's family is pretty much the same as mine, she doesn't have to worry about any of them except Ma and Pa Kent. However, she doesn't want to be leader. Snow couldn't be leader for several reasons, the most obvious being she's from and entire different time period and doesn't know how to work a microwave oven, she hasn't even fought alone before, and like me, she doesn't care."

Justin looked into their eyes, daring them to argue, which they didn't. "I'll admit it, I'm sick. I'm twisted. I've killed before and I'd do it again without a second thought, and with no regret afterwards as long as I could justify it in my own perspective. I treat everything like a game, even my own life. I don't care about any of you. I don't even really care about Gotham City. It can burn to the ground for all I care. Any one who says other wise about me is wrong." Every one was silent, shocked at what Justin had just told them. They had all thought Justin was as dedicated to Gotham as the rest of her family. She was actually, she had lied, she did care.

Justin was ranting, but she didn't care, she needed them to understand, understand why she was like this and what they were getting themselves into if they agreed to try it again, "But I'm the best you've got. I'm the best you've always had, and I'm the best you'll ever have unless Speedy's family dies so she has no strings attached. And I don't care what you think about that. I really just don't. But one thing I've learned about life, even if I treat it like a game, if I set down rules, I follow them. I'm not gonna lie, I'll treat the team like a game. But my rules for it are as follows. I'll never leave you behind unless you tell me to. I'll never leave you for dead unless other lives are at risk and there's just no other way. I'll put everything I have into this team. I'll give orders fairly. I'll step down from being leader the minute some one better comes along or one of you get's better. I will not give up on this team until the day I either die, or we prove them all wrong. I will never ask any of you to do anything more, _and _I won't expect _anything _less."

She stared into their eyes, letting them know every word she said was true. "And I will never put this team before my family. If I have to choose between saving my family, or saving you, I will choose my family without a second thought." Justin put her fist foreword, waist level, "If any of you think you can live with a leader who follows those rules, then don't hesitate."

Super Kid slowly put her hand foreword on top of Justin's. Snow sighed, "I _am _indebted." She put her hand on top of Justin's.

Speedy shrugged, "I can live with those terms. Break them, and I'll break you." She put her hand on the pile, and Justin smirked.

"The Justice Little League is probably the worst name in the history of team names. It's childish and way to cliché. I propose a new one. Desperate Revenge."

Every one hesitated, and then Speedy smirked right back at Justin, "I second that."

Super Kid nodded, "I third it."

Snow shrugged, "I accept it as well."

Every one knew what they had agreed to. Justin knew the rules she had set, and she intended to follow them to the grave. The others knew the leader they had agreed to follow, and each one burned it into their hearts that they would follow Justin to Hell and back if asked. Not because they were loyal to her, not because, like Justin, they wanted to prove the Titans wrong, but because they knew it would be the right thing to do. They would be just as dedicated to the team as Justin was. They each swore it in their hearts.


	6. The Hound From Hell

**All credit goes to cr1mson5. Check out her story 'Normal is a cuss word'**

Conan Kent was having a great day so far. She had patrolled the city with her father several times that day, and had a great time with him. She and Valiant had hung out, and Valiant hadn't suggested they do anything illegal, and as far as Conan could tell, wasn't doing any type of drug and smelled like she hadn't drank alcohol in days. To put the whip cream on the Sunday so to speak, tonight she would be meeting up with her team and doing her weekly report, which was better than normal.

It was a system Kyler had worked out, every week on Saturday the team would go patrolling in Metropolis, Star City, or Gotham, it varied from week to week. Every Friday they would meet up with a report on crimes they had stopped, crimes they were working on, and crimes they had failed on.

Kyler and Justin normally were the ones with some big crime they were working on, and if they still weren't done with it by Saturday, then the group would work together on it. Snow didn't really have much of a weekly report since she only went patrolling on Saturday with the group as far as the rest of them knew.

Snow was new at this, and didn't feel comfortable with going out on her own to pick up food for herself, let alone stop a mugging for fear of knocking out the wrong man.

Justin often had the highest scores, and although she didn't brag or say she was better than the others, they knew that's what she thought. Conan respected Justin, she had great skill, amazing detective skills that were better than even Speedy's, and besides Valiant was the closest thing she had to a friend. However, she knew that Justin was still human, and therefore had limits, although those limits were far beyond most humans Conan knew. Conan knew that if they ever got into a fight, then she would win because Justin was human, and Conan was Kryptonian.

Conan was certain though, her scores would outmatch even Justin's. She had stopped ten muggings that week, and three bank robberies, not to mention the two gang fights she had broken up, and the five kittens she had gotten out of trees. Conan wasn't sure if the last one counted, but she knew the owners of said felines were grateful for it.

Conan headed to the door of her apartment, only to be stopped by her father, "Where are you going?" He asked from the coach, reading a newspaper, trying to be casual and failing.

Conan sighed, she had been living with her father for five months since the whole incident with Cadmus, clones, poison pills, and mind control that pretty much summed up her first few months living on this earth. In those few first weeks she learned that her father was still a kid at heart, he loved messing around with Tim, Bart, and the rest of the Titans, and he was very bad at concealing it when he wanted something.

"To DR, it's Friday." She said, raising her eyebrow. She had told her father her schedule as soon as it had been planned out so that they could still have time to hang out.

"So... you can't take the night off?" He asked, putting on an expression that was meant to be a bit broken hearted but just came off as a pout to Conan.

"Not really, I mean, I only have to report in two days a week, it looks really bad when I can't even do that." She said, frowning.

"Oh." Her dad said, looking down at the floor, "To bad."

She turned to leave, but then sighed, "What do you want?"

"Can you watch Krypto tonight?" He asked quickly. "Its guy's night and Tim wants to take us all clubbing, and if I leave Krypto here then the curtains and sofa will be rags when I get home."

Conan froze, and then thought it out, before sighing, "I guess... I could take him with me. Just this once." Her dad handed her the leash without hesitation and took off, shouting a quick thanks.

She looked to Krypto, she and the dog didn't really mix. The way she saw it, Krypto was her dad's dog, as long as they didn't have a do over of the first time Conan had taken him for a walk, they would get along fine. Unfortunately, Krypto thought the exact opposite. He considered Conan his playmate since Conner was busier than ever these days, and had no time to rough house with him. So far, pretty much every walk ended up in chaos, and every attempted bonding time her dad had forced her into with Krypto ended up with torn clothes and laser vision. At first Conan had gotten really hurt during the first few times, but as she got better at dodging the hits she didn't mind as much, actually found it to be a very fun version of training. Her clothes got ripped less often, and the lasers always ended up hitting a tree, or rock, or once, some unfortunate man's car. Thankfully, Conan and Krypto had the since to fly away very fast before the man could see his car.

She sighed, clipping the leash onto the dog, and said, "Please, just... don't break anything, Justin will kill me."

When the canine and the Kryptonian arrived at the base, what greeted them was not Justin, Kyler, or Snow even. What greeted them was a complete beast of a dog. It's fur was a deep, dark, sapphire blue, it's eyes were black, and it's ears flopped down on either side of them. It's fur was about an inch long around it's back and chest, but the fir on it's legs was short, like a pit bulls almost. It's tail was also like a pit bulls, long and bony but the fur on the top of the tail was about an inch long. It looked almost like a wolf, really. The fur around it's paws was perfectly trimmed, and it's toe nails were nicely trimmed. Over all, the dog looked very well groomed, but it's body type said it was not a pure breed. It's eyes and the size of the dog said it was a demon from the darkest pits of Hell.

Conan froze, and Krypto stood rigid by her side, glaring at this new and unwelcome mutt.

"Oh, hey Super Kid." Said Justin, walking into the room and tossing a very rare steak to the dog, who tore at it, wolfing it down in large chunks. When the dog was done, blood from the steak coated it's lips, making Conan want to run away with Krypto under her arm. Krypto looked like he wanted to do the same, but instead of throwing Conan under his leg, he would have taken off into the air, dragging her along with him.

"Justin... this is your dog?" She asked, trying to not look scared, and failing.

"... Kind of..." Justin mumbled.

"Where'd you get it?" She asked.

Justin plopped down on the sofa, "An illegal lab that Scare Crow owned."

Super Kid raised an eyebrow, "What was she doing there?"

Justin snorted, "_He _was being experimented on by Scarecrow's mad scientist goons, which is why his fur is blue. Tim ran a scan on his DNA, says he probably has super powers and such. Only thing I've ever been grateful to Scarecrow for."

Conan unclipped Krypto's leash hesitantly, and pet his head reassuringly. "What's your dog's name?"

Justin looked up, her lazy smirk on her face as usual, "His normal name is Rango, Kenya picked it out. If he starts showing super powers, then he gets to be Hellhound."

Conan raised her eyebrow, "Your going to make your dog a super hero?"

"Don't go pointing fingers, not only will they get snapped off, but you ain't got room to talk." Justin said, looking pointedly at Krypto.

Conan glared at her, "This was Superman's idea, not mine. I have no idea why he did this, every one was crazy back then."

"Amen." Justin said, flipping the channel showing CSI New York.

Conan would have sat next to her, but was afraid to move with the blue demon dog staring her down. "Batman just... let you get a dog?"

Justin was silent for a moment.

FLASHBACK, JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I looked around the destroyed lab, the goons I had knocked out were on the floor, and I quickly snatched a few vials of chemicals off the shelves and stuffed them into my leather vest's pocket. Tim could analyze them later, find out when Scarecrow had been up to, because these chemicals were blue, not green. This was not fear toxin, so maybe it was some kind of tricked out version of fear gas Scarecrow had developed? I heard whimpering off in a corner of the lab, and walked over, finding a cage with a blue dog inside it.

The dog was obviously in pain, but I could see no wounds. Broken ribs maybe? Why was it's fur blue? What the heck was it doing here? Realization quickly came to me. They had tested it on the dog. My fists clenched, and I ground my teeth. Testing something like this on a person was one thing. People were smart, they could fight back under reasonable circumstances. Dogs were different, dogs weren't that smart, they saw food they grabbed it, paying no mind to the fact the food was in a cage. It was easy to get them, and easy to boss them around and use them. Cowards. Afraid of actual resistance.

I carefully opened the cage and picked it up, carrying it to my motorcycle and riding it home. I put it on a hospital bed, and started carefully checking it over for wounds. I didn't feel anything broken, so I couldn't really do anything. I rubbed it's head gently, pitying the dog, when it suddenly perked up. I took my black helmet off, and it at up, licking my face gently.

Kenya toddled in, and grinned a big toothy grin at the dog, "Oh! Puppy!" She ran over and patted the dog's leg, grinning like crazy, "Justin when did you get a dog?"

"What's this about a mongrel in my father's house?" Growled Damian, walking down the stairs.

Justin cringed, "Scarecrow had it... and it was hurt, so I just thought I could-"

"You most certainly may not keep it!" Damian barked. "This is my father's house and you will not keep this mutt here!" He came to a stop beside me, and gestured to the dog.

As soon as he had he stretched out his hand, the dog clamped his jaws down on his hand, blood immediately drawing. Damian roared in rage, and attempted to punch the dog, but the dog tackled him, pinning him down under his great weight and sinking his teeth in more while Damian shrieked in pain. Kenya clapped her hands, "Good boy!"

I smiled, "I think I'll keep it."

Kenya smiled even bigger, "Let's name it Rango!"

"Rango?" I questioned.

"I like that movie!" She giggled.

Rango finally had his fun and got off of Damian, walking over to me and sitting to my right, licking his jaws and glaring at Damian as he stood up, cradling his wounded hand. I crossed my arms, glaring at him. He wanted to attack my dog, but he knew I wouldn't let him. So he said the three words that would win any argument when I was in the wrong. "I'm telling Father!"

He took off to the stairs, and I ran after him, Rango on my heels. When I finally caught up to him, he was standing in front of Bruce, pointing accusingly at me, "She brought a filthy, flea bitten, mutated mutt into the bat cave! And she intends to keep it!"

I winced as Bruce turned to me, then Rango. Rango recoiled at Bruce's glare, and hid behind me. Poor dog. No animal should see the bat glare. Bruce looked back up at me, arm's crossed. "Justin, explain this."

I told him what had happened, and handed him the vials I had taken from Scare Crow's lab. He glared down at me, "Take _that_ to the pound."

I looked down at Rango, and knelt down, rubbing his head as he leaned on me, and we both gave Bruce puppy dog eyes.

He wasn't fazed, "No."

Kenya toddled in, "Rango!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, and snuggled into his fur, and then pulled away, smiling at Bruce. "Isn't he nice? He's so pretty and strong! He's smart too, 'cause he learned how to play Justin and Damian's game!"

"What game?" I asked, curious. I knew the dog was strong. It had some obvious muscle underneath his fur, I had felt it when checking him over. It's the fact that muscle was all I felt that worried me. It had no fat cells whatsoever. This dog was malnourished.

"Bloody." She said. "When ever you and Damian play it, one of you gets all bloody!"

Bruce sighed, rubbing his temples, "Justin, take care of it."

"Starting with a flea bath?" I asked, hopefully.

He glared, "You know what I mean, the pound. Now."

I launched myself at Bruce's leg, grabbing onto it, I didn't want to give up this dog, I had found it, and there fore it was my responsibility. This dog had obviously been experimented on and who knows what they had done to it. We had already named it, which was practically signing a document promising we would take care of it. It had hurt Damian when he had insulted him, which just proved the dog was pure awesomeness!

"Please don't make me give Rango up! I promise I'll take care of him Bruce! You won't even know he's here. I'll train him, I'll teach him, I'll do anything, please Bruce!" I begged. I wasn't ashamed, I had no honor.

Alfred popped in out of no where, "If I may, Master Bruce, I think training and looking after a dog will teach young Justin responsibility. Perhaps you could even have Master Damian and Miss Kenya pitch in? It would be a wonderful way to teach them all responsibility. Besides, Miss Kenya seems quite attached to it."

I looked back at Rango to find Kenya clinging onto him for dear life, as if she were scared that he would be ripped away from her. Bruce sighed, and nodded, "Fine, but if you start neglecting him even for a moment, he goes straight to the pound, understood?"

I nodded vigorously, "Thank you!" I hugged his leg tightly, "I promise, I'll take good care of him, and if he makes a mess, I'll clean it up!"

Rango suddenly pounced on Bruce, making him topple over, and licking his face repeatedly. Bruce shoved him off, and Rango stumbled into a vase, and it toppled over, shattering on the floor. Bruce stood up, and turned to me, "Fine, you can start with that."

He walked off, and I sighed, turning to Kenya, "Grab a broom and dustpan will you?"

She waddled off, and Damian smirked at me, "Digging your own grave Justin."

Kenya came back, and handed me the items. I frowned, "What are you talking about? You heard Alfred." I shoved the dustpan into his hands, "We all learn responsibility."

FLASKBACK ENDS.

Justin shrugged, "Pretty much, yeah."

Conan took two steps foreword, to join Justin on the couch, when the dog's ears immediately stood straight up, and it's gaze turned to her, daring her to move. She froze, deciding standing was perfectly fine. "So where are Kyler and Snow?"

Justin smirked, "Kyler went out awhile ago, something about a minor demon terrorizing down town Star City, and apparently she needed Snow as back up."

Conan raised an eyebrow, "And... your not concerned?"

Justin shrugged, "Snow is a necromancer and a dark magic user, so she's kind of in her element."

Conan suppressed the urge to groan, she was used to Justin's utter disregard for the seriousness of this business, but sometimes, it was all just... odd. Conan wondered if there was something wrong with Justin, she didn't understand how some one could just not care.

Rango glared at Krypto, and growled, telling him that it he set _one _toe out of line in _his_ building that he would rip his throat out. Krypto glared back, not happy that this new dog thought he was in charge, and barked loudly. Rango took that the very wrong way, and lept at Krypto, jaws snapping and a snarl escaping from his throat. Krypto stood his own, for a few seconds until Rango's jaws clamped down on his foot. Krypto yelped for mercy, trying to pull away.

Conan jumped in immediately, trying to pry open Rango's jaws, but failing. She was scared to use super strength, in case she accidently broke his jaw, and Justin would probably break out the kryptonite.

Justin, sat on the couch, looking at the scene with interest, until Conan looked up at her glaring, "Do something!"

Justin sighed, "Rango, heel!" Rango continued to attack Krypto, letting his leg go and snapping at his jugular. Krypto flew into the air, and Rango grabbed onto his tail with his teeth, letting himself dangle as Krypto tried to shake him off.

Justin shrugged, "I tried."

Conan looked at the two dogs with desperation, which quickly turned to anger. She grabbed Justin by the collar, and shook her back and forth quickly, "If you don't stop that demon from breaking my dog, I'll break you! Right down the spine, like a tooth pick!"

Justin struggled free, and then raised a gun, and shot it. "Rango! Drop it!"

Rango unlocked his jaw, and dropped the floor, doing a dog version of a back flip on the way down. Krypto flew into Conan's arms, and she stroked him lovingly. Justin turned to Rango, and gestured him over. He timidly approached, and as soon as he was right in front of Justin, she kneeled down, and scratched him behind the ears, "Good boy! You made that Kryptonian run off with his tail between his legs! You get peanut butter when we get home!"

Conan glared at Justin, "That mutt practically mauled Krypto! And your going to sit there and say 'good boy'?"

Justin shrugged, "Not my fault your dog couldn't handle him. Can't blame him though, Rango is a cold blooded killer."

Conan scowled, "What is he doing here? Why can't he stay at the mansion?"

Justin looked thoughtful for a moment.

FLASH BACK, JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I walked out of my room, heading for the door so I could get to DR, but Dad stopped me. He thundered into the room, his jacket was all torn, by teeth looks like. He dragged Rango behind him by the scruff of the neck, and then shoved him into my arms, "Get this dog out of here before I shoot it!" He shoved me out the door, and slammed it in my face.

I raised my eyebrow, and then shrugged, setting Rango down and walking off the grounds, him right at my heels.

FLASHBACK ENDS.

Justin shrugged, "He followed me here."

Conan growled, stroking Krypto lovingly and said, "Please, don't bring him here again."

"How about you don't bring Krypto here again?" Justin sassed, "Rango is my dog, and he follows me everywhere. Krypto on the other hand doesn't have to come here, let your Dad take care of him, or take him to a kennel!"

Conan growled, and leapt at Justin, tackling her. Justin shoved Conan off of here, and pulled out a piece of kryptonite, taking it out of it's air tight container and holding it toward Conan. Conan slowly shrank to the floor, and Justin smirked, "It doesn't take much does it?"

She approached Conan, holding it out further, and saw something in Conan's eyes she had never seen before: fear. Justin hesitated, but never the less took another step closer. Justin fed off of fear, she loved it. Her father had taught her from a young age that the greatest weapon one could ever possess was fear. If people were afraid of you, they didn't question you, and it made it easy for you to manipulate them. Everything was a game, even life. And in the game of like, every person you met was a usable playing piece. Justin had learned that lesson easily, had applied it to everything, except her family. She never considered her family a game, and even though she would sometimes mess with her brothers, particularly Damian, she never took it to far.

Conan looked up at Justin pleadingly, "Please! Stop it! Please! Get that away from me!"

Justin took a shocked step back, not believing what she heard, Conan was already caving? She had expected a lot more of a fight. Conan's eyes told Justin that she wasn't scared of her, more of the green crystal in her hand. Justin could look into Conan's eyes and know, she had had a very bad experience with kryptonite. Justin put the green crystal back into the container, and put it a pocket in her leather vest.

Conan just sat there for a few moments, breathing heavily, and holding herself. Justin frowned, not understanding how dishing out a little kryptonite had made her not only weak, but completely vulnerable. Conan looked up at Justin with her normal neutral expression as Krypto limped over and licked her face, "Don't you ever do that again Justin. Ever. You have no idea the pain kryptonite has caused me in the past. Never bring that God forsaken rock here again."

Justin shrugged, "Whatever." She walked back over to the couch, and Rango hopped up on it to, his head in her lap as she switched the channel to the news. "Oh yeah!"

Conan looked up, and saw Speedy laying in the middle of the street, Snow standing over her while a huge black and green demon roared, and shot magic at everything in sight. "What the-"

"Speedy just got decked big time!" Justin said happily. Conan walked over, Krypto at her heals as she watched Snow put up a white shield around her and Speedy as the demon banged his fists on it. Conan frowned.

"Maybe we should go help out." She suggested.

"And miss watching Speedy bleed on the news?" Justin questioned as Speedy shakily sat up, blood dripping out of her nose.

Conan sighed, and then watched as Speedy fell back down, not able to stand up while Snow struggled to keep up the shield. She turned to Justin, and you could practically see the light bulb appear over her head. "Well, if you wanna keep watching from here instead of seeing it close up..."

Justin froze for a minute, and then something between a happy smile and a mischievous smirk crossed her face. She jumped up, grabbing her guns and black hood and practically flew to her motor cycle, Rango on her heals. Conan sighed as she and Krypto now occupied the couch, watching the news as Black Hood and Hellhound eventually showed up on scene.


	7. Kim And Jason

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I got to Star City, Rango ran beside me every step of the way. I figured he would have trouble keeping up, but he did fine. Must have some version of super speed. I skidded into the area with the demon, and smirked up at him. He turned away from Snow, and towards me. I smiled pleasantly at Speedy, and offered her a friendly wave, but I was smirking, not in a kind way. A way that said, 'Ha! You just got decked and I had to come over here to save you!'

If looks could kill, not only would I have killed a whole lot more people, but I would be dead right now from Speedy's look she was giving me. I shrugged, and drew my guns, shooting at the demon. The bullets went right through him, like a bullet through black and green water. He pulled his head back slowly.

"Uh oh." I said.

He shot his head foreword, and belched out green flames. I rolled to the right, and Rango jumped to the left. Snow put down the shield, and Speedy shot three arrows at him, as soon as they hit him, they exploded, coating him in gasoline.

"Justin!" Speedy shouted, "Light him up!"

"Got it." I said, reaching into my vest pocket for anything flammable, but found none. "Uh, guys..."

"You have got to be kidding me." Speedy growled as me and Rango ran over. "You've been trained by The Red Hood, The League of Assassins, Blue Jay, Night Wing, and BATMAN himself, and you of all people don't have anything flammable?"

I shrugged, and the demon shot the flames again but Snow put up one of her white shields around us. "I only have room for so many weapons, and I was never really the type to carry a utility belt."

Speedy groaned, "Brilliant, and this just so happened to be the day I didn't bring any exploding trick arrows."

Black Hood sighed, turning to Snow, "Have any spells with fire?"

Snow remained unfazed, "None that I have memorized, but I have them written down on a scroll somewhere."

"Well, that's unhelpful." Black Hood said, sighing.

"Maybe we should call in some help." Speedy suggested.

Justin though for a moment, "Do you think laser vision would work, cause I can get Super Kid to bring Krypto."

Speedy flinched at the green flames grew, and the shield weakened, "No time! What about your dog? Can he do anything?"

Rango barked and wagged his tail, glaring at Speedy. Justin shrugged, "Don't know. We haven't figured out this dog all the way. He seems to really like chewing on leather, attacking ten year old assassins, and traumatizing Kryptonian dogs though."

Speedy groaned. "We are going to die."

Suddenly, the flames stopped, and Red Arrow swung into the scene, glaring viciously at the demon. "You get away from those kids." He growled out, and fired an arrow. It hit the demon, exploding, and catching the demon on fire. It screamed bloody murder as it burned, eventually dying. Rango whined, leaning on my leg. He didn't like the sound of another creature in pain, especially not the sound of it slowly dying. I was used to the sound of torture and death. Rango wasn't.

Speedy shivered, putting her fingers in her ears and looking away. Snow said "Vinash." and disappeared, teleporting to who knows were. Red Arrow turned to us, actually, to Speedy.

He walked over, putting a hand on her should. She opened her eyes, and looked shocked, turning away. "Thank you for saving our lives." She said. She sounded like a robot.

"Did you get my letter?" He asked.

"Yes. Unfortunately I have to decline. I made it perfectly clear to you that I can not have anything to do with you. Grow up. Get over it." She walked away, and I dumbly turned to Rango, scratching his ears.

Red Arrow was silent for awhile, until he finally said, "Nice dog."

I looked up at him, smiling slightly. "Found him at a research lab for Scare crow."

Red Arrow nodded, "Say 'Hi' to Night Wing for me." He turned around, walking away.

"Sure thing." I called after him.

I stood up, looking down at Rango, "OK Hellhound, lets bolt."

I got on my bike again, and he hopped up on it with me. "Don't have it in you to run again?"

He gave me a pleading, puppy dog eyes look. I laughed, "How can I say no to that?"

I rode back to DR, and we all sat down at the conference table. It used to have the letters 'JLL' on the middle, for Justice Little League, but it now had DR on the middle. Super Kid laid down her numbers for the week, and every body smiled, "Nice job." said Speedy.

"Impressive." Snow said, nodding.

I shrugged, "Your learning." I placed mine down. "Not fast enough though."

Speedy's jaw dropped, "Sixteen muggings, seven bank robberies, and five gang fights? How do you even have time to sleep Justin?"

I shrugged, leaning back in my chair, "You said it yourself Kyler, I've been trained by The Red Hood, The League of Assassins, Blue Jay, Night Wing, and Batman himself. Let's just say I... have my ways."

Conan groaned, leaning back in her chair, no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to compete with Justin Todd.

Rango barked, really loud, tired of the girls ignoring him, and jumped up onto the table, doing a double flip in mid air. He trotted in front of Justin, jumping onto her lap, and demanding attention. Justin laughed, scratching the beast of a dog's ears. "Dog, you must have super agility, and super speed! Your awesome, wait till I tell Dad. He'll put you in training right away, and I'll have to design some kind of costume. Maybe a mask and cape? No, capes suck. Don't tell Batman I said that. Maybe a mask and boots? A leather jacket?"

"Justin." Speedy interrupted, "Think about costumes on your own time, tonight, a huge shipment on drugs is going down tonight in Gotham, that's your home turf. Thinking about busting it up?"

Justin smirked, "Actually, me and Hellhound have to turn in early to the Bat cave. Mom wants 'Mommy daughter bonding time' so me and her are gonna track down a serial killer. We've got enough evidence, we should have him in a holding cell by day break."

"Serial killer?" Asked Snow.

"A murderer who kills many people in similar ways or patterns." Kyler said.

"I thought that was a massacre." Snow said quietly.

"No, a massacre is when a bunch of people die in the same general area, usually in the same time frame." Justin said, "Kind of like the Holocaust. A little."

"What does k.m.n. mean?" Super Kid asked. "Valiant texted that to me yesterday."

Every one was silent, and then Justin suddenly perked up, "Kill Me Now."

Super Kid nodded, "Got it."

Justin stood up, "Sorry to have to bail out. Speedy's in charge till I'm back." Justin and Rango exited without a backwards glance.

Super Kid turned to Speedy, smiling, Speedy raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Your always saying how your fed up with Justin not respecting you, and treating you as second rate. Do you really think that she considers you second rate if she puts you in charge?" Super Kid asked, smiling slightly.

Speedy was silent for a moment, "Well... maybe?"

Snow laughed slightly, standing up, "Speedy, I am a necromancer, so trust me when I say, that Justin respects you. Just not as an equal."

Speedy was silent for a minute, "Wait... what does being a necromancer have to do with it?"

She received no answer.

AT WAYNE MANOR:

Kimberley curled up on the couch, sighing contentedly. Dick was on a date with some red head, Tim was avoiding Stephanie, Stephanie was avoiding Tim, Alfred was cleaning, and every one else but her and Jason were out on patrol. Justin would be home in half an hour and they would be putting that big brain of hers to a serial killer case. Kimberley Mathilda was a very gifted fighter, but she was no detective. One thing she had never really grasped in the whole vigilante thing was the detective work. Maybe if she had been trained by Batman, it would have been different, but she had been trained strictly by her father. George Mathilda was the most head strong, hard core, army rat in Gotham City. He had been a marine, and a marine never truly quit. You might be out, but you never truly lost the attitude. Kimberley had been raised as an Army Brat, before she had started the whole Blue Jay thing, she had thought the only career for her was the marines. She had even looked into how to join, the drills they did, how much training she would receive, the whole nine yards.

She could have still become a marine, after Justin had been kidnapped for so many years, but she hadn't. She told every one it was because she still had faith Justin would be found. They bought it, but it wasn't true. She had stayed because, eventually, she had hoped to run into Jason.

She sat up, rubbing her head and trying to forget the bad memories of going into her babies room to find her cradle empty. Her scream that hadn't even sounded human. All those months trying to put herself back together. Every time she heard Bullet for my Valentine playing on the radio, heard the name Robin on the news or in the paper, when ever she saw some one who looked a little like him, she nearly fell apart all over again. She sighed, the bad memories taking over her brain.

Suddenly, she was body tackled from behind. Her attacker pinned her to the floor with their superior weight and strength. She felt lips brush the top of her ear, and a voice whisper, "Don't let your guard down baby."

Kim exhaled in relief, "Jason, don't do that again."

He chuckled darkly, "Did I scare you Kimmy?"

"No, I'd hate to kill my 'attacker' and find out he was my boyfriend."

"You weren't even close." He argued, his lips traveling to the back to her head, and kissing it softly, then deeply inhaling the scent of her hair.

"Look behind you." She said.

Jason turned his head, to see Kim's foot right behind it, a blade sticking out of the front, aimed right for the back of his neck. He chuckled, turning back to her as she twitched her foot, the blade retreating into her shoe. "Aren't you so clever? Where'd you get that?"

"I helped Dad make about fifty of those when I was twelve. It's simple really. I thought about making one for you for your birthday, interested?"

Jason chuckled, "Sounds good." His hands released her arms, and went to her shoulder. He let his weight off of her for a moment, so he could turn her over so they were facing each other. He gently pinned her down again with his legs, and his hands traveled to her hair, stroking it. His eyes never left hers as he slowly leaned in closer, smiling slightly.

"How can you do that?" She asked, blushing slightly.

"Do what?" He asked, running his fingers through her hair slowly.

"Look at me as if you haven't seen my face every day for eight months." She said.

Jason chuckled, "Kimberley Ann Mathilda, just because I see your face everyday, doesn't mean it's any less beautiful."

Kimberly raised an eyebrow, "You do know I'm just not a pretty face right?"

Jason chuckled, "How could I forget. You have the quick tongue to match the sharp looks."

Kimberly smirked, flipping him so she was on top of him. "And the fighting spirit. Don't forget that."

Jason gave her a lingering look up and down, "And the body."

Kimberly blushed fiercely, losing her focus. Jason took that opportunity to snatch her up in his arms, and throw her onto the couch, jumping on after her, making sure not to land _on _her. Never the less, she gave a short cry, until his lips cut her off. She sighed slightly into the kiss, she should have seen the attack coming, but she had been distracted. Jason had a way of doing that to her, directing her attention away from what he didn't want her to see. His hands wrapped around her waist, while her hands ran through his hair, and then wrapped around his neck.

Finally, lacking air, they pulled away, satisfied.

Kimberly tried to get up, but Jason gently pushed her back down slowly, shacking his head. "Kimberley, when is the last time we have taken a night for ourselves?"

Kim thought for a moment, "About two weeks ago we had a movie date."

"Yeah, for a few hours, until you made me go back to my room. Come on Kim, a _whole _night. While we're on the subject, I'm tired of sleeping in _my _room and you sleeping in _your _room. Come on Kim, let's share a room already." Jason said, a stern look on his face.

Kim knew that look, it meant he wasn't gonna back down an inch unless she either had him at gun point, or started crying. She figured gun point wouldn't work this time, and she didn't feel like whipping up fake tears. So she sighed, "You can move your stuff in tomorrow. Tonight you can sleep in my room with me."

Jason beamed, and leaned down; kissing her neck lightly, "Love you."

Kim smiled, running her hands through his hair again, "Love you too."

AT KYLER'S APARTMENT:

Kyler stared at the letter in front of her. She had given her father her answer earlier that day, but she felt as if it hadn't been _her_ answer. She read the letter over, for the one hundredth time that week.

**Kyler,**

**I know what your thinking about now days. I can see it in your eyes every time I see you. My eyes used to look like that. You feel awful, you feel like your pointless, a waist of other people's time. You feel alone in the world. Kyler, I used to think like that. Look what happened to me! I got addicted to drugs, quit being Speedy, (don't tell Ollie, but that was the worst decision I ever made) I finally got off of drugs, but it was to late. My life spiraled downward, and everything went from terrible, to worse. I got hooked on drugs again, and look where I am now.**

**I'm going to offer you a way out. I'll teach you, don't think Ollie is the best thing that ever happened to you. He's not. I think we both know that. He isn't your only option, you can chose me if you really want to Kyler, you know that. I'm not going to put your family in danger, I'll make sure they're safe. Don't make this into some huge demand, it's not. Your just switching teachers. You've grown out of Ollie, it's time to move on. He got you out of the streets, and set you on the right path. There's more than one right path though Kyler. You owe it to yourself to try and make you and me work.**

**Ollie will be hurt. I'm not gonna lie to you, he'll be really hurt, but he'll get over it. I need you more than he does. Kyler, you are the last good thing in my life today. I need some kind of reassurance that I have one person left that's still mine.**

**Just think about it. Please.**

**-Roy**

I sighed, shoving the letter into my pocket, and resting my head in my hands. He was my father, and I was all he had left. I was being selfish to him. He needed me. My family needed me too. I cared about them more then I cared about Roy Harper. But it was just so hard to push away the one man that I had never been given a chance to know, before I could start to. I wanted a Father. Every girl needs a Father, every girl wanted a Father. A Mom was great to have, they showed you how to become a woman, and they were always there for the girl stuff. A Father is something entirely different, not more important, just a lot different priorities. They kept you safe, they're always there for you, and when you're around them, you just feel, different than when you're around your Mom. You get my point, they aren't better than Moms, but they are still pretty necessary for a health home.

Was it so wrong for me to want my father? No. Was I making the right decision, pushing him away to keep my family safe? I just don't know anymore.


	8. CAN YOU NOT HEAR THAT?

Justin Todd slowly sat up in bed, and looked at the foot of her bed to see her mutt, Rango snoring heavily. She rolled her eyes, stretched, yawned, and then threw herself to the floor, falling in push up position and proceeded to do one hundred push ups, and then one hundred sit ups. She then put sweat pants on over her boxers that she used as pajamas, and straightened her wife beater before walking next door, and tapping on her mother's door, "Mom? You up yet?"

They had both found the serial killer last night, thanks to her mother's brilliant idea to use Rango as a tracking dog to sniff out his car, and then his apartment. Justin couldn't gather why her Mom hadn't answered yet, so she opened the door, to see her Father snuggled up to her Mom in bed, both sleeping soundly. Justin took a few steps closer, to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks. Nope, there they were, her father in his boxers, and her Mother in her old sweat pants and tank top. Her father's arms were loosely wrapped around her mother's waist. His face was in the crook of her neck, a small smile on both of their faces.

The door opened behind her, and Alfred walked in, eyes wide, just as surprised as Justin. Justin offered him a shrug, and turned back to the two, and carefully stepping closer, tapping her dad's shoulder lightly, "Uh... Dad?"

Her father's smile faded, and he opened his eyes to see Justin standing there, and Alfred behind her, "Whaaaaat?" He groaned out.

"It's uh... time to get up Dad." She said.

He groaned, tightening his grip on Kim, and said, "OK, OK. Wake up Kim."

Kim slowly sat up, pulling out of Jason's arms, and walked over to the closet. Justin watched, and her eyes widened to see that the closet had been split down the middle, half had her mother's clothing, and half had her father's clothing.

Justin broke into a huge grin, realizing what was happening. She shook off the feeling of surprise, her grin broadening, "Dad, you still gonna teach me to use nun chucks tonight?"

Her dad smiled back, "Of course, what kind of Dad do you think I am?"

Justin smiled, and happily walked out of the room, hands in her pockets and a goofy smile on her face.

CONAN'S BEDROOM:

Conan was laying in bed, the covers wrapped around her loosely, and the stillness of the morning giving her such peace and quiet that she couldn't help but smile in her almost sleep. Suddenly, her alarm went off, and she groaned. Her alarm was Before I Forget, by Slipknot.

She groaned again as the words got louder, denying her any chance of falling asleep again.

Claustrophobic!

Closing in, and I'm-

Catastrophic!

Not again!

She groaned once more, deciding, like she did every morning, that she was going to defy her radio alarm, and turned over, pulling her blanket over her head, trying to drone out the noise.

Smeared across the page!

And doused in Gasoline!

I'll wear you like a stain!

Yet I'm the one who's obscene!

Her room door opened, and her father walked into the room, sweat pants wrinkled, hair tousled, and over all, half awake. "Conan." He began, trying to talk over the music.

I've got no time to lose!

I'm just caught up in all the cattle!

Conan braced herself for what she knew would come.

"CAN YOU NOT HEAR THAT!" He shouted. Conan flinched, her ears ringing. Blasted super hearing. Her dad sighed, and turned the music off.

Conan rolled over, falling out of bed, and mumbled out whatever came to mind, which was, as usual, "It's not that easy Charlie."

Her Dad groaned, and then walked over Conan, and laid down in her bed, deciding that even though it was smaller than his, it was closer. "Who's Charlie?"

"A guy from a band. Charlie Scene." She said, curling up in a ball, finding the floor surprisingly comfortable.

"What's today?" Her Dad asked, yawning and pulling Conan's blankets over his head.

"Saturday." Conan said, yawning.

His head popped up above the blanket, "Was I supposed to do something today?"

"I think so..." Conan mumbled, trying to think straight. "Oh yeah, don't you have a date with that bartender you met last night?"

Conner yawned again, stretching, "What time?"

"Six-thirty." She said, "You were supposed to take her to breakfast or something."

Conner nodded slightly, "What time is it?"

"My alarm goes off at six o' clock on the dot." Conan said.

Conner paused for a second and then jumped out of bed, running down the stairs to his bedroom, probably to get dressed. Conan laughed slightly to herself, "Is she that pretty?" She mumbled, standing up and turning the radio on again, to hear Kick in the Teeth playing.

She nodded her head to the beat, got dressed, and then flew out her window, not wanting to have to deal with her Dad telling her to eat whatever he was making for breakfast. She loved her Dad, but there were three things that Dad's normally did that he sucked at. Boy trouble, (Well, let's be honest, all Dad's sucked at that really) helping her with homework, and making food in a way were it was not only edible, but tasted good.

She didn't really mind the first two because she had no interest in boys, her Dad was her number one, and she was fine with the high C she had in math, but she needed edible food. So normally, she would skip breakfast, and eat at Valiant's house.

Valiant lived in a run down apartment that would never pass a health inspection, but the food her dad made was great. His French toast rocked, and he even made pancakes in the shape of skulls! I mean, how cool was that? Very cool.

After they had eaten, Valiant would drag Conan along as she spray painted the bottoms of bridges, once had even asked if they should invited Justin. Conan had shot that idea down as soon as possible. When Justin got involved, things went from good to incredible, from bad to worse, from brave to death defying, from hard to impossible, from slightly odd to completely insane!

With Justin, a simple act of spray painting bridges could turn into starting a riot to over throw the American government. Or Canadian government, you could never tell with Justin.

Conan would usually just fly Valiant there, and watch while she did it. She didn't join her friend in her small times crimes, but she didn't attempt to stop her, for fear of becoming a critic instead of a friend in Valiant's eyes. She wouldn't deny it, if Valiant threatened to stop being her friend, Conan would help her with the spray paint. She wouldn't deny the fact she had no self esteem. She didn't ask favors, for fear of being classified as a user, but if asked to jump, would already be three feet in the air.

Today though, Conan had other plans. Valiant was sick with the flu so she had a free schedule. She didn't know why, since she didn't have a reason though, but she felt like checking up on Snow.

She flew to DR, and walked in, "Snow? You here?"

Snow walked down the stairs from her room, and looked up at Conan, "Yes?"

Conan shifted uncomfortably, realizing she might be intruding. "I was just wondering... I know we weren't supposed to meet until later tonight, but maybe you'd like to... I don't know, go hang out?"

Snow raised an eyebrow, "I am unfamiliar with this term."

Conan rubbed the back of her neck, "Well, it means, to sped time together, with friends... hanging out?"

Snow processed this, "Like on that movie that us and Speedy watched last night? The Hang Out?"

Conan paused, "That was The Hangover, and no. Hanging out is just... spending time together and having fun. Kind of like playing checkers, or watching a movie maybe. Anything you wanted to do would be cool."

Snow nodded slowly, "You mean like a play date?"

Conan would have sighed, but didn't want to discourage the other girl. She knew what it was like to not understand terms that others had been using fluently since kindergarten. "Yes, but for older kids, without parents or plans made by parents."

Snow smiled slightly, "Well, I was about to attempt a new spell, if you would like to watch, and perhaps meditate later?"

Conan perked up, things like magic had always interested her, but she had never had an opportunity to really learn about it. "Sounds cool."

Snow paused, "Conan, what does cool mean?"

Conan smiled, this was an easier word to define, "You say it when you think something is really nice, or interesting, or you just don't really know how else to describe something."

Snow led Conan up to her room, and Conan was surprised at how well furnished it was. The carpet was the same red as Snow's top. The bed sheets too, but they had dark yellow flower petals. The walls were a dark, kind of yellowish brown. There were a lot of shelves filled with books, scrolls, candles, pretzels and mortars, a human skull, test tubes, boxes, and a bunch of other weird looking stuff. Snow took down a scroll, and a dead rat. Conan grimaced, "Ew."

Snow shrugged, "Found it in a corner on the fourth floor."

Conan nodded, she had heard little feet running around up there.

Snow placed in on the ground, and drew a star around it with candle wax. She placed a lit candle on each of the point, and placed the rat in the middle. She sat crossed legged on the floor, and opened the scroll, and started chanting something in an odd language. If Conan had to make a guess, she would guess Latin, but there was no evidence to back up the theory except years of stereotypical horror movies.

After Snow was done, and took a really old looking stone knife, and cut the tips of her fingers, letting the blood fall onto the rat carcass. She then waved her arms, giving a cry in the odd language, and the candle flames went out. The rat slowly rolled over, got up, and started walking around, but jerkily, like it's joints were near rusted shut. Then, it stopped moving, falling over again. It was dead.

Snow sighed, "I swear, anything bigger than a toad and I can't do it. Give me a dead hamster and it'll be scurrying around like nobodies business, but a rat? I just haven't got the hang of it yet."

Conan perked up, "I thought you said you were a powerful necromancer."

Snow stood up, putting the scroll away. "I'm a powerful witch. Necromancy was one of my classes when I was training under Morgan Le Fay. Unfortunately, Merlin imprisoned me before I could complete my training. I don't blame him, Morgan would have done the same to his apprentice. Truth is, I had no quarrel with Merlin. Morgan did though. Children often inherit the feuds of their parents, whether they want to or not. I did her bidding, but she was the one who ordered it. I'm not saying my hands are completely clean, but they weren't as dirty as mud either."

Conan nodded, "My family is like that. Lex Luthor and I are bitter enemies, not so much because of what he's done to me, but what he's done to Super Man, and Super Boy. Not to mention the whole world. If it wasn't for who he is, and who I am, we might actually be 'friendly' toward each other, might. Hard to tell since the only side of him I've seen is the one that tries to kill me. Justin's family is the same, as well as Kyler's. The entire super hero community is like that. I'm not blaming them, but the original seven made the flag, we just wave it around. Sometimes it makes me think what the world would be like with no super villains or super heroes."

They were silent for a moment, until Snow said, "Such inevitable things, I don't think it would be best for us to ponder."

Conan nodded, she was glad for an escape from the heavy topic.

Snow took out a crystal ball, putting it in the middle of the room, and setting up two cushions. They sat down, and Snow instructed Conan, "Don't think about anything. Nothing at all. Just breath in out. Focus on the sound of that. The ancient ones used to think that meditation not only calmed the physical body, but strengthen the mental one."

Conan did as told, placing her hands on her knees, and bringing the tips of her middle finger and thumb together. She focused on the sound of her breathing, and after a few minutes, she found that if she really concentrated, she could feel the pull of each and every muscle in her lung contracting, relaxing. Over and over. She forgot she could even open her eyes, just losing herself to that never ending peaceful darkness that surrounded her. Sometimes, she would see something in the darkness. At first they looked like little stars in the distance, then she would see shadows moving. Then, she saw Kyler, from behind. She was kneeling on the floor, holding the crook of her elbow, and shacking slightly.

Conan's eyes flew open, gasping slightly. Snow looked at her, "What did you see?"

Conan put her hand on her forehead, and then opened her mouth to answer, before looking up at Snow, shocked. "I don't remember."

AT KYLER'S BEDROOM:

I pulled on my shoes, and walked out of my apartment, cigarettes and lighter in my pocket. I was going to hang out with friends I wasn't allowed to anymore, breaking my promise to me. I had been doing that a lot lately, breaking promises, letting people down. Mostly myself, but other's too. Ollie, Mom, Austin, Olivia, Roy... but mostly myself.

I walked down the street, and into an alley, where Tyrone and the rest were sitting, waiting for me. I sat down next to Tyrone, taking out a cigarette, and lighting it. I took in a deep drag, letting the flavor seep down my throat and into my lungs. It stung slightly, reminding me, that these things would kill me if I kept this up. I guess I just didn't care enough about that to stop. I looked up at Bo, to see something surprising. Blood shot eyes. His eyes darted left and right, not stopping for more than five seconds to look at something. He shook slightly, as if he was having a sugar rush. But I knew that he wasn't, this was something a lot more serious.

I cleared my throat, and Bo's eyes shot to me, and then away quickly. "Bo." I said, again he looked at me, then away quickly. I frowned, "Are you addicted to something?"

He took in a short breath, and turned his head away, ashamed. Adiran (That isn't a misspelling Adiran is an actually name, a Latino male name.) looked at me, frowning. "He tried heroin, didn't stop."

My mouth fell open, turning to Bo, "But... Bo, you know that you're killing yourself."

He looked up at me, his bloodshot eyes watery, "You don't understand, I _need_ it." He said, tears running down his face. "I can't live without it Kyler, I need it as much as you need air."

I paused, looking down at the cigarette in my hand. "No." I mumbled, dropping it and stomping it out. "You don't need it Bo. Go to rehab, get help." I walked away, and never looked back.

THAT NIGHT:

Black Hood walked through the Bat cave, heading for her motorcycle, until a voice stopped her. "Justin, guess what!"

She turned around, to see Kenya waddling over to her. Justin took off her helmet, and picked Kenya up, "Kenya, you can't call me that when I'm in costume. If you do, some one might hear, put two and two together, and find out who I am. Then we'd all be in trouble." They had had this talk many times before, but Kenya was to young to comprehend it. Justin was a patient teacher, and decided to try and stay away from Kenya when she was in costume. "Now, what did you want to tell me?"

Kenya beamed, "I made a friend at school today! Her name is Alyssa, and she has a bunny rabbit too!" She proudly held up Jabberwocky. "Her's is blue, and her name is Alice."

I chuckled, Alice and Jabberwocky. Way to big of a ironic twist. Then again, maybe they both just liked Alice in Wonderland, the choice of names could just be a happy coincidence.

Kenya kept talking about her new friend, talking a bit to fast for Justin to really grasp everything, but she managed to understand Alyssa was about Kenya's height, had light brown hair, and blue eyes. Alyssa liked things most little girls liked, with one exception.

"And she's good at throwing knives too!" Kenya said proudly.

Justin's eyes widened, "What?"

"I took a knife to school, and I taught her how to throw it, and she's really good with it!" Kenya said, as if that was perfectly normal.

Justin paled, not really sure how to handle the situation, "Kenya, bringing knives to school is illegal, don't do it."

"But you take a knife everywhere, including school." Kenya protested.

Justin mentally punched herself for telling Kenya that. Kenya had found a knife in Justin's back pack, and Justin was forced to explain (with Bruce standing nearby) that she always took one with her everywhere because she had been taught to do so since she could wield one. Justin sighed, "It's different for me, because... well you see..." Justin sighed, not having any way to deny Kenya that she was doing something wrong. Justin didn't consider herself one of the 'do as I say, not as I do' people who ran around committing vandalism.

Justin walked over to the wall, and took down a special pouch. "Keep you knife in here, and it won't be discovered by any metal detectors. Don't take it out unless you're sure no one else can see you and Alyssa. And please, don't tell anyone but Alyssa you have a knife with you. If any one sees, dispose of all evidence before they tell the teacher."

"Why?" Kenya asked, putting her small pocket knife Justin had given to her for her birthday in the pouch.

"Because some one will tell the teacher, then they tell Mom and Bruce, and then they ask you who told you, and then you tell them, and then I get grounded again." Justin explained.

Kenya raised an eyebrow, "So I'm doing something wrong?"

Justin groaned, smacking her forehead, then perked up, having found a different approach. "Do what I tell you and I'll let you spend the night at DR, deal?"

Kenya perked up, liking the idea of visiting super heroes, "Deal!"

Justin smiled in triumph, and mounted her motorcycle, and then taking off, "We'll have the sleep over next weekend, okay?"

Kenya nodded, skipping off to practice with her knife probably. She really seemed to enjoy that thing.


	9. Sleepover With Superheroes

Justin Todd drove down the road on her motorcycle, Kenya on the back, holding onto Justin for dear life, while Rango ran beside them, dressed as Hellhound. Justin had figured out his costume by now. She had put a black skull cap with ear and eye holes she had personally cut into it on his head, and leather mittens to go over his feet. Justin smiled as she looked over her shoulder at Kenya. She was wearing her normal pink clothes, but Justin had put a blue domino mask on her, in hopes to disguise her identity from people who saw her riding with Black Hood and Hellhound.

They got to DR, and walked in, Kenya running in with Jabberwocky in tow, excited to meet Justin's team and see everything in the hide out. She took off up the stairs, ignoring Justin's protests to wait for her, and ran down the hall, bumping into some one.

She looked up to see a girl with scary looking clothes, and white shaggy hair. She hid Jabberwocky behind her, nervously looking up at the girl. However, the strange girl kneeled down so they were eye to eye, "Who are you little one?"

Kenya smiled, liking the idea of a new friend, "I'm Kenya, and this is Jabberwocky!" She held up the pink bunny excitedly.

Snow nodded to the bunny in greeting, and turned to Kenya, "So you're the little girl Justin talks so much about."

"Justin talks about me?"

Snow nodded, "She says you have a very good aim with knives. She also says you have a very big imagination."

Kenya beamed, "I threw a knife at a squirrel once."

"What happened?" Snow asked.

"I missed and it ran away." Kenya said, shrugging.

Justin came up behind them, "Hey Snow, I see you met Kenya."

Snow nodded, "Will she be coming with us on patrol tonight?"

Justin shook her head, "She's five Snow, way to young."

Snow tilted her head sideways, "I thought you said you were being trained by assassins at the age of four."

Justin shrugged, "That's just me. And if you haven't noticed, starting that young messes you up a bit."

Speedy came up behind them. "I'll say it does. Justin has half of her marbles at best."

"What marbles?" Asked Kenya.

Speedy laughed, "Exactly!"

Justin frowned, covering Kenya's ears, "Don't teach my little sister to put me down. I get enough of it from you."

Speedy shrugged, smirking. Super Kid joined them, smiling down at Kenya, "So this is the future vigilantly of Gotham, huh?"

Kenya stopped, realizing that she was the only one besides Alfred who wasn't out beating up thugs. Her sister, brothers, parents, and grandparents were superheroes. Her sister's friends were all superheroes. Pretty much every one she was close to except her friend Alyssa were superheroes. Kenya started to realize, sooner or later, she needed to put on a mask and get out there with them.

Justin smiled down at her, "Kenya, you OK to stay here with Rango while we go out on patrol right?"

"Where are you going?" Kenya asked.

"Metropolis, Super Kid's been having some trouble with some teenager gangs on the east side, and we're gonna ruff 'em up a bit and send 'em home." Justin said, shrugging.

Kenya smiled, "OK."

Justin nodded to the others, as they walked to the garage. "There's leftover burgers in the fridge if you get hungry. Don't burn the place down."

Kenya nodded as they left, and she turned to Rango, "What do you wanna do?"

Rango tilted his head to the side, perking up his ears. Kenya smiled, looking down at Jabberwocky, "You got any ideas?"

Jabberwocky giggled, _'Lets prank call Damian!'_

DAMIAN'S POINT OF VEIW:

My cell phone started vibrating. I growled, standing up from my push up position and answered it, "Hello?"

"Hello, um... is your refrigerator running?" Asked a high pitched little girls voice.

I frowned, "Kenya, if this is your idea of a prank phone call, it sucks."

Kenya was silent "Oh... sorry Dammy."

I sighed, "Stop calling me that!" I hung up, and got back in push up position.

KENYA'S POINT OF VEIW:

I sighed, setting the phone down, "That didn't work out very well."

Jabberwocky looked sad, but then smiled slightly, _"It's OK, there are other things we could do."_

"Like what?"

_"We could invite Alyssa over." _He offered.

I thought for a moment, "I'll ask Justin." I quickly dialed her phone number. It rang twice before she answered.

"Bad timing Kenya." Justin ground out.

"Sorry Just- uh, I mean Black Hood. I was just wondering, can we invite Alyssa over tonight?"

I heard the sound of gunfire, and several thumps, kind of like when Justin clocked Damian in the jaw. Justin groaned, and I heard Snow yell something very loud in a weird language. Then Speedy shouted, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

There was a big explosion, and then Justin, panting slightly said, "Sure, you call her and if she says yes, and if it's OK with her mom, I'll come get her."

I beamed, "Thanks Justin!" I hung up, and then dialed Alyssa's number. "Alyssa, do you wanna sleep over with me, Justin, her friends, and my dog tonight?"

"In Wayne Manor?" She asked.

"No, at D- uh, in an old ware house." I said.

"It is spooky?" She asked.

"You bet!" I said happily, "And Justin snuck some horror movies out of Daddy's closet!"

"PG-13?" She asked.

"Nope! Rated R!" I said, giggling.

There was a slight pause, "Will there be ice cream?"

"Three gallons!" I said happily.

"What flavors?" She asked.

"Chocolate, mint, and strawberry." I said.

"I'll ask my mommy." There was a slight pause, and I heard Alyssa quietly ask some one, "Can I go to a sleep over with a friend?"

I heard cursing on the other end, followed by, "I ain't drivin' you anywhere!"

My mouth fell open, was that Alyssa's mommy? I felt bad for Alyssa, so I whispered into the phone. "She doesn't have to, Justin will pick you up."

Alyssa repeated it, and there was more cursing, and then a "Fine, pest!"

I jumped slightly, and Alyssa whispered shakily, "She said I could come."

I was silent, "OK Alyssa. Justin will be there soon." I hung up, not sure what to say. Mommy's weren't supposed to be mean like that. My old mommy wasn't mean like that to me. She got sick, and then she disappeared. The police officer said she had 'gone home', but she wasn't at our apartment. My old daddy, I hadn't seen him for years, whenever I asked Mommy, she would say he was fighting in the war, but I heard a police officer say he was 'on death rode'. My new mommy was always nice, she had taught me how to use a blow gun. My new daddy was funny, and nice too. He sometimes hung me upside down from my feet, and picked on my about Jabberwocky, but he was nice, and I loved him. If Alyssa's mommy was mean, then was her daddy mean too?

Justin and the others walked in, and Justin raised an eyebrow, "Can she come?"

I nodded, "Yeah, you have to go pick her up."

Justin nodded, turning to her friends, "OK, Alyssa can not have any idea that we're superheroes. So, a few rules: no one goes upstairs, the conference room get's locked, and no costumes at all. Masks off, no weapons, just a bunch of school girls watching inappropriate movies. Got it?"

They all nodded, going upstairs to change and hide their stuff. Justin turned to me, "I'll be right back, OK Kenya?"

I nodded, "Bye Justin!"

Justin took off, and I turned to Jabberwocky, "Do you think Alyssa's mommy and Daddy are mean?"

Jabberwocky sighed, "I don't know, but they can't be worse than that man who hurt you."

I shivered, remembering that night, the knife, the pain. I thought I was going to die. I had wanted to die, just so the pain could go away. Good thing Justin came.

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I pulled up to Alyssa's house, and walked up, wearing the same top from my costume, but I had blue jeans on, and no mask or hood. I walked up the steps, knocking on the door. A woman swung the door open, glaring down at me. A T.V. blared behind her, a man sitting on the couch, with nothing but boxers. She put her hands on her hips, "Well what do you want?"

I raised an eyebrow, "I'm Justin Todd."

She snorted, "The Wayne Manor brat?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, I'm here for Alyssa."

A little girl with straight brown hair walked down the hallway, a plastic grocery bag in her hand with clothes in it. "I'm here." She said quietly, avoiding eye contact with the woman.

The woman shoved her out the door roughly. She would have tripped if I hadn't caught her. I raised my eyebrow at the woman, I didn't like her. "I'll have her back by-"

"I don't care!" She snapped; slamming the door shut quickly.

I looked down at Alyssa, who smiled up at me, completely unfazed by the woman's actions. This was nothing new to her. She looked past me at my motorcycle, and her eyes lit up, "Do I get to ride on that?"

I nodded, smiling. I led her over, and she hopped on behind me, wrapping her arms around me in a death grip. This kid was strong for her age.

I pulled up to the warehouse, and Alyssa ran in, practically glomping Kenya. They immediately set up sleeping bags, and then took out their stuffed animals. Conan jogged down the stairs, smiling at Alyssa, Snow following her.

Kenya giggled, "This'll be so much fun!"

Snow turned to me, "What do people normally do on these 'slumber parties'?

I thought for a moment, "I... don't know."

Kyler walked down the stairs, in civvies and raised an eye brow, "You never had a sleep over?"

I shrugged, "I grew up with assassins, sure there were other kids there, but we never really talked to each other, let alone have sleep over's."

Kyler looked at the others, "Conan, you've been to a sleep over, right?"

Conan shook her head, "Valiant and I never had one."

Kyler sighed, "OK, guess I'm gonna have to teach you guys."

I looked at Kenya, "So... what do you wanna do?"

Kenya shrugged, "I tried to make a prank phone call to Damian earlier, but it didn't work."

Kyler brightened up, "They do that at sleep over's a lot, this phone isn't traceable, right?"

I nodded, "This phone is almost Batman proof."

"Wow." Said Conan.

"High tech." Speedy nodded, approving. She picked it up, "OK, who wants to go first?"

I thought for a moment, "How about you go first, so we can see how it's done."

She raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

I frowned, "I've never done it!"

She sighed, and dialed a number, it rang a few times.

"Who are you calling?" Snow asked.

"My math teacher." She said.

Finally, some one answered. "It's one in the morning! What do you want?"

"Hi, Ah'm with the post office sir, Ah'm calling 'bout the six crates of mustard ya ordered." She said, with a really good southern accent.

"What?" They asked.

"Ya see, we can't deliver it to ya, because the mustard'll spoil if it gets left out all day, so ya'll have to come pick it up." She said, sitting down on the couch with the phone.

We all sat down around her, Kenya and Alyssa giggling slightly.

"I didn't order any mustard!" They protested.

"Sir, it says right here ya did. Ah don't know what's goin' on, but ya need to pick it up by tomorrow, it'll spoil right quick." She said, and Conan had to stifle laughter.

"But, I don't even like mustard!" They protested.

"Then why did ya order six crates of it sir?" She asked, and then hung up. Kenya and Alyssa busted out laughing, and Conan chuckled.

She held the phone up, "OK, who's next?"

I reached for the phone, dialing Damian's number. It rang twice, before he picked it up.

"What do you want?" He growled out.

"Sir, I'm with the Sprint Phone Service, I'm very sorry to trouble you, but we've been having some problems with the service in your area. We need to test the reception, so I'm going to have to ask you to repeat after me please."

I heard a sigh, and then "Fine, make it quick."

"OK, repeat after me, I'mato."

"I'mato."

"Talbu."

"Talbu."

"Twad."

"Twad."

"Now all together sir." I commanded.

"I'm a total butt wad." He said.

We all busted out laughing, and I heard him growl on the other end, "Justin! I'll kill you!"

"Sorry Damian, but you'll never find me." I said happily.

"Your at DR, and I'm coming over there right now to kill you in front of your friends!" He hung up, and I looked up at the others.

"We have a small problem."

"What kind of problem?" Asked Kyler.

"Less than five feet tall, black hair, blue eyes, the superiority complex the size of a small country... any of this ringing a bell?" I asked.

"Damian." Kyler and Conan said together.

"Dammy's coming over?" Kenya asked, worried.

I shrugged, "Nope, I've got one more call to make." I dialed Dad's number, and he answered before the first ring was over.

"Justin? What's wrong?"

"Dad, Damian is about to come over to DR and crash our sleep over, can you stop him?" I asked.

There was a slight pause, "Can I use violence?"

"Most defiantly." I said.

"No problem. He won't set one foot out the door." Dad said, and then hung up. I knew within a few minutes, Damian would be taped to a stalagmite in the Bat cave, and when Dick went hunting for duck tape, he would find none.

I turned to Kyler, "What next?"

She shrugged, "Movie?"

I smirked, grabbing my duffle bag, and pulling out Saw. "Horror anyone?"

Halfway into the movie, Kyler was leaning onto the side of the sofa, snoring slightly. Alyssa and Kenya were clutching onto Conan as if their lives depended on it, and she was doing the same to them, all of them halfway closing their eyes. Snow was watching the movie with a grossed out expression, flinching every now and then. I was watching the movie with a slightly interested look on my face, not flinching or closing my eyes at all.

Suddenly, blood splattered all over the characters, and Conan, Alyssa, and Kenya screamed, tightening their grip. Snow gagged, and Kyler woke up, saw what had happened, and made a mad dash to the bathroom. I raised an eyebrow, "Oh come on, it's not that bad guys."

I heard vomiting noises coming from the bathroom, and I paused the movie, shouting, "Make sure to wash your mouth out Kyler!" All I got in response was a groan.

I looked over at Kenya, who was whimpering in fear, along with Alyssa, "Uh... maybe we should bring out that ice cream now."

A few minutes later, we were all sitting around, eating ice cream, and playing Scrabble. Kenya and Alyssa were playing as a team, and so were Snow and Conan, since Snow couldn't really write that well in English.

I looked down at my letters, and then smiled, arranging them so that they spelled out 'homicide' on the board. Speedy gave me a look, "Seriously?"

I shrugged, "I enjoy my work to much."

Kyler sighed, and changed it to 'homicidal'

We went around for a few turns, and trust me, that board was something to look at. It had words like 'juvenile' 'crayon' 'revenant' 'homicidal' and 'lollipop'. It looked like kindergarten meets bloody murder. Finally, I had a great word that would have won me the game, but Kyler said that it didn't count because it wasn't a real word.

"Oh come on!" I protested, "Justintastic definitely counts as a real word."

She handed me a dictionary, "Look it up."

Let me just say, I hated being proved wrong, and I was. If losing the game wasn't bad enough, waking up in the middle of the night because Kenya and Alyssa had nightmares that made them wet themselves was.

**I haven't had a review since chapter five, and the person who has been doing all the reviewing for this story has quit FF, so yeah... some feedback would be nice. Please? Even if it's a Flame, just... anything?**


	10. Speedy, You're Fired!

JUSITN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I way laying on the couch, upside down, just staring at the ceiling. My legs were over the back of it, and my head was hanging off where my feet were supposed to be. I was bored out of my mind. It was Monday, Labor Day, and I had no school, and nothing to do.

I groaned, "What's the point of a holiday if you've got nothing exciting to do?"

Tim walked into the room, chuckling, and sat down next to me, feet hanging off the back like me. "Labor Day blues?"

I nodded, crossing my arms across my chest, "Tonight we'll have our hands full with drunk drivers and such, and other illegal things, but I don't want to spend the _day_ just doing nothing."

Tim laughed slightly, "You are so impatient."

"No, I'm bored, and desperate to not be. There is a difference." I pointed out.

"Wanna help me wash the bat mobile?" He asked hopefully.

"No." I said, shooting him a look.

Tim sighed, thinking. "You could go hang out with Conan, I was going to go to an arcade with Conner and I'm sure he wouldn't mind having you two along."

"One, yes he would. He hates me." I pointed out, "Two, I am _way _to old to go to an arcade with my older brother. Three, Conan already has plans, I asked."

He chuckled, "What about Snow?"

"She's got plans with Conan. Something about trying to resurrect something." I said, shrugging.

Tim raised an eyebrow, so I continued, "She's a necromancer." He nodded, understanding.

"What about Kyler?"

I paused, "I could go check... see if she's busy."

Tim smiled triumphantly, "There you go."

I rolled off the couch, and said, "Watch Rango for me." I ran out the door, ignoring Tim's protests.

TIM'S POINT OF VEIW:

I turned to my right, to see Rango, the demon dog himself staring at me from under his ears. "Yes?" I asked weakly. Though I would never admit it, this dog scared me.

He pounced on me, growling, and biting at my arms. I shrieked, and threw him off of me, making a mad dash to the bat cave. My plan? Hide in the Bat mobile.

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I walked to Star City, and to Kyler's apartment, knocking on the door. There was no answer. I took a lock pick out of my pocket, and soon the door swung open. I walked in, and looked around, no one seemed to be home. I heard a bump from down the hall, must be Kyler's room.

I walked towards the room, and opened the door, to see Kyler, sitting in the middle of the floor, with a needle about to go right into her elbow. She jerked her head up, staring at me in disbelief, "J-Justin?"

My eyes widened in shock, and I froze, not sure what to do. She didn't move. The needle stayed right there, just about to go into the crook of her elbow. I stood there, blinked, and then jumped at her, snatching the needle away and throwing it across the room, I turned back to her, glaring at hard as I could, and just let loose. I kicked her ribs, and then jumped on her, punching her face in. She struggled, tried to throw me off, but it was no use, I was to far gone.

I kept pounding her, hoping that if I hit hard enough that her sanity would return. Finally I just shouted, "WHY!" I grabbed her collar and shook her back and forth, "Why on earth would you do something this stupid! Your Dad tried that, and look where it got him! You of all people? Doing Heroin? That's just plain idiotic, and you know it Kyler! So my question is-"

I stopped shacking her so she could answer, "Why would you! And God Almighty, if you give me some ridiculous answer I'll shove that needle into your eye!"

Kyler grabbed my wrists, looking at me with desperation, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO!" I paused, my grip loosening. Kyler continued, her hands shaking, and her voice cracking. "I don't have any other way to deal with it all. My father wants me to choose him, but if I do, I endanger my family, and betray Ollie, I owe him my life! I can't just leave him! But I owe my father so much too, and I want my father!" Kyler cried, tears gathering in her eyes as she held onto my wrists for dear life. "My old friends won't even talk to me anymore! I just left them and I saw them for the first time in a year last week! They hate me, and so do you! God knows I deserve it! Acting like I could be a better leader, like I could stand a chance against any of you. I put my family through so much already, and I'm actually tempted to put them through more by going with my father!"

Kyler paused, sobbing a little as I awkwardly held her shoulders, not sure whether to hug her, or slap her for thinking that.

Kyler looked up at me, sniffing a little, "You used to be like me, you were with assassins, I was with a gang. You found Batman, I found Green Arrow. You got your whole family back." Kyler's sad expression turned to one of anger, "I DIDN'T!"

Kyler pulled away from me, wiping her eyes, and shuddering, holding herself. "I didn't have anyone. And it's not fair."

I frowned, and then slowly stood up, turning away from Kyler and to the door, looking straight ahead, standing straight, betraying no emotion. "No. You're wrong. You had us. You had your Mom. You had your siblings. You had Ollie. You had all that, and you still convinced yourself you needed a father. Ollie tried to be a father and you wrote him off as 'mentor'."

I walked to Kyler's door, opening it, and pausing. "Speedy, because of recent actions and behavior, I'm banning you from the team."

Kyler jerked her head up, not believing what she was hearing. "What-"

"I want only the best on my team, the strongest there are." I looked over my shoulder at Kyler, a look of discust on my face, "If you have to depend on that," I pointed at the needle laying in the corner of the room, "Then you aren't strong enough to qualify."

I walked out, closing the door behind me, not looking back. I did not regret anything I said or did.

KYLER'S POINT OF VEIW:

I sat there on the floor, in disbelief. Justin had just kicked me off the team. No! That team was the only thing I had left! I needed that team, I needed it to show myself there was still one thing I could do right. I might suck at being Kyler Harper, but I was really good at being Speedy. I put my head in my hands, shuddering, my tears threatening to spill over. Kyler had just ruined Speedy. I had messed up again, and this time, my slip up had ruined everything.

I turned to the corner, and picked up the needle, glaring at it with all my might. Bo had said it would help. I had told him I was going through a lot of heavy stuff, and he had offered it to me, even showed me how much to dose myself with. He said it had helped a lot with him, and that it could do the same with me. He said it would give me an incredible rush, that it would help me forget everything bad. I opened my window, and through the needle out, it hit the concrete with a shatter, spilling the accursed drug onto the ground.

I slammed the window shut, and jumped onto my bed, curling into a ball, and crying my eyes out, I had ruined it all. This time, there was no fixing it. I had messed up big time before, but I could always fix it. I had messed up by getting into a gang, but I had fixed it. I had messed up with my father, but I could fix it if I wanted. I had messed up with my team once, and I had fixed it. This time though, there _was_ no fixing my mistake.

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I stepped out of the hotel, and looked at the ground in front of me, seeing the shattered heroin needle. and a small smile, barely noticeable broke out on my face. That was the Kyler I knew. However, I was going to have to push her even further than this.

FRIDAY: DR, JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

"Where's Speedy?" Asked Conan as we sat down at the table.

I took a deep breath, not quite ready to say it, but I knew I had to. "I fired her."

There was silence as I took out some paperwork, and began to scribble out whatever came to mind.

"What?" Asked Snow finally.

"I fired Kyler last week, Monday to be precise." I said.

Conan stared at me across the table, "Why?"

"I'm not obliged to say." I pushed the paper work aside, and looked up at Conan, challenging her gaze as she tried to make since of it all.

"Speedy is on our team, we have every right to know." Conan objected, her normal neutral expression turning to suspicion and anger.

I snorted, "Used to be on the team, she isn't anymore."

"But Kyler did nothing wrong." Snow spoke up, "She was an admirable member of the team, what reason would you have for firing her?"

"My business. Mine and Kyler's." I said firmly.

Conan jumped up, anger in her eyes, "Justin! I can't believe you!" Conan had come to her own conclusion, which I knew wasn't the right one. "I know you and Kyler didn't get along, but that was no reason to fire her!"

Conan grabbed the edge of the table, and flipped it, hoping to scare me, but it didn't work. She grabbed my shirt collar, and glared right into my eyes. Her glare didn't work on me, nor did her actions, and that aggravated her. "You had no right!" Conan continued, "I thought I could trust you to give your all to this team, but you just had to bring personal quarrels into it! I should have known you didn't have what it took to be leader!" Conan's anger was taking over, and I knew half that stuff she said weren't true, so it didn't affect me. "You're a pathetic lunatic, just like your father!"

Yeah, that one stung a little, but I didn't let it show. I just pulled away, finished the paperwork quickly, and left.

I got home, parked the bike, changed, and walked upstairs. I got to my room, shut the door, turned off the light, and slowly sat down in bed, putting the pillow over my face, before letting out a long, sorrow filled noise that was a mix between a shudder and a sob. I sniffed, and let out a few tears, not crying uncontrollably, but still, crying.

I couldn't help myself, I just fired the closest thing I ever had to a friend, and even after she threw out the heroin, I couldn't just hug her and say, 'you can come back now'. I had to make her do even more, and I wasn't sure if I had it in me. Conan assumed that I had fired Kyler because we didn't get along. I would never do that, I was better than that. Then the whole father thing, her saying I was pathetic and crazy, and my father was too. That one hurt the most. I was tired of being the strong, emotionless Black Hood. I just wanted to be Justin again. Problem was, I'm not sure there was much of a difference anymore.

A few minutes into that, there was a knock on the door, and I gasped, and then coughed, trying to get my voice normal, before saying, "Whatever it is, Damian did it."

The door opened, and Dad walked in, looking pretty shocked. "Justin, are you _crying_?"

I quickly wiped the tears away, and glared at him. "No." I said my voice cracking.

He stood there for a moment while I mentally beat myself up for letting myself cry. He sighed, and walked over to me bed, sitting down next to me, "What happened?"

I frowned, looking at the floor, "You don't want hear about it."

He cupped my cheek, and gently pulled my head up, forcing me to look at him, "Yes I do." He said, sounding sincere, "If something makes _my _daughter this sad, I need to know who to kill."

I sighed, "You don't have to kill any one Dad." I tried to turn away, but his hand prevented me from doing that.

"Justin, please, I want to help, but you have to tell me." he begged.

I sighed, and then told him what had happened when I went to Speedy's apartment. Everything I had done, said, and thought at the time I told him about. He just sat there for a moment, and put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a one armed hug. "I'm sorry Justin. I wish I could do something, but it sounds like you handled it pretty well. Kyler will come around."

I nodded, looking down at my knees. He sighed, "That wasn't all of it was it?"

I shook my head slowly, and told him what happened at the base. The things Conan had said that had hurt the most. As soon as I finished, I saw Dad stiffen, and I continued, "And now my team mates think I'm a jerk that fired their best friend. I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow they quit the team because of it." I looked down at my shoes, wondering just how badly I had messed up.

I felt tears spring into my eyes again, and Dad suddenly pulled me into a bear hug. "Just ignore her. Once Kyler comes around, Conan won't be upset anymore, and she might even take back what she said. Besides, when people talk like that, insulting you with anything they can think of, it means they're losing."

I raised an eyebrow, looking up at him, "Losing?"

He smirked, "You haven't forgotten that lesson already have you?"

I thought for a moment, then grinned triumphantly, "Everything is a game."

"Exactly." he said, smirking. "Every person is a useable playing piece for you, and like chess, you need to have a strategy for every single one of them. Because Conan said those things, it means she's losing, and she knows it."

"And now I know how to manipulate her anger." I said, my grin being replaced by an evil smirk.

He nodded, messing up my hair, "Exactly. Good night Justin." He walked of to his room, leaving my door open a crack so Rango could push his way in later.

**Review please? Still, I haven't gotten a review since chapter five. Please review? I'm starting to feel a little belittled here.**


	11. Kyler's Dad

Kyler Harper was sitting in her apartment, studying for an algebra test that, according to her teacher, would count for five percent of her grade. She didn't really care about her grades, but if she didn't keep her grades up, her Mom would make her give up her 'extra curricular'. However, she pretty much considered school an extra curricular, since she learned so much more with Green Arrow than she ever did with her teachers.

Austin, her little brother, opened the door, and walked in, "Kylie, have you seen my toy soldiers?"

Kyler frowned, she didn't like her nickname that had stuck with her even after Austin and learned to pronounce his 'r's. "No."

"Oh… wanna play legos with me?"

"No." She said a little firmer. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"But… you haven't played with me in a long time. You used to play with me every day. I miss it." Austin said, looking sadly at Kyler.

"And I missed the silence in my room, before you ruined it." Kyler growled, "Leave me alone, I'm studying!"

Austin looked like he had been slapped, and he walked out of the room, looking like a kicked puppy. Kyler sighed, she hadn't been nearly as nice to every one as she should have been lately. She blamed it on her stress, but the cause of her stress was her fault.

There was a small tap on her window, and she looked up, and saw none other than her father, Red Arrow. She wanted to glare at him, to open that window, and just really tell him off. She wanted to be able to cuss him out with no regrets, and to then slam the window in his face, but right now, she just wanted to talk to him. She had been wanting to talk to him several times that month, and he seemed to know when she wanted to talk to him. The letter had been written on the same day DR had been disband. He had showed up right when she had almost died fighting that half demon thing. And right now, when she really needed to talk to someone, he was right here, at her window... still waiting for her to open it.

She got up, walking over to the window, and opening it slowly, letting him walk in. She sat down on the ground, picking up her text book again, and pretending to read it.

He sat down next to her, and read over her shoulder for a moment, "Aren't you a little old to just now be learning consecutive integers?"

"I'm a Freshman." She brushed off.

He was silent, he knew something was wrong with her, but he had no idea how to ask without sounding paranoid. "So... how's it going with DR?"

She paused for a moment, "Justin kicked me off the team."

"Why?" He asked.

"... Let's just say she caught me at a moment of weakness, and said that she only wanted hero's who have a bit more... self control and will power." Kyler said, turning a page, still not reading anything.

Roy was silent for a moment, and then asked, "What happened?"

Kyler snorted, "You don't care."

"Yes I do. You know I do." Roy corrected.

"What was this 'moment of weakness'?" He asked, prying a little, though he didn't consider it prying, this was his daughter and he had the right to know.

Kyler frowned, and then sighed, "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Kyler." Roy said, not so much as a question, as an order.

Kyler gave her father a glare, "It's not important."

"Then it shouldn't be a big deal for you to tell me." He said, having no problem in playing her game.

Kyler groaned, "She caught me about to try heroin for the first time, OK? I swear, I didn't plan on it, Bo gave it to me, said it would help. I just wanted to see if it would, but I swear, I didn't try it, Justin stopped me."

Roy took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Kyler, I warned you about drugs."

"I know." Kyler mumbled.

"And you persisted to try them anyway." Roy said, opening his eyes, and glaring at her.

"I know." she said, closing her book.

"The only reason you didn't was because Justin stopped you." He accused.

"I kno-"

"Stop saying that!" He cut off.

Kyler put the book to the side, and pulled her knees to her chest, "Sorry."

Roy groaned, and put a hand on her shoulder, "Look... just... don't do it again, OK? I know you were 'just seeing if it would help' and you had no intention of doing it again, but it's very hard to stop once you start. Trust me."

"I do." Kyler said, slowly leaning on her father, and wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry Dad."

"About what?"

"For being such a jerk lately."

"You haven't been-"

"Yeah I have, I've been completely emotionless to you, I've been snapping at my friends, especially Justin, I've been disrespecting Ollie, and ignoring Austin and Olivia. Isn't that being a jerk?"

"Well... yeah, pretty much." He agreed, chuckling slightly.

"What do I do?" She asked.

"If I know Justin, which I don't, but I've dealt with people just like her, she only did what she did because she wanted to make sure you never do it again. Drugs are a very unhealthy habit. Speaking of unhealthy habits." He reached into her back pocket, and took her cigarettes, "No more smoking."

Kyler frowned, "Oh come on!"

"You heard me." He pocketed the cigarettes, and climbed out her window, and then triumphantly held up her lighter, smirking.

"Dang it." She mumbled, turning back to her forgotten algebra book.

AT DR:

Conan growled, pacing back and forth across the floor of Snow's room, hands clenched in fists of rage, a permanent death glare on her face. Snow was sitting cross legged on her bed, meditating.

"It doesn't make any since! Justin had no right to do this. Speedy was just as much of a contributor to this team as we were, sometimes even more! The last thing we needed was one less team member, but Justin disregards that fact, and fires Speedy. What's she going to do now, just go back to being Ollie's partner? No! Kyler deserves to be on this team way more than Justin does! We should march right over to Justin, and kick her off the team, and ask Kyler to be out leader." Conan turned to face snow, stopping in her pacing, "You with me?"

Snow's eyes fluttered open, and she raised an eyebrow, "Did you say something?"

Conan groaned, smacking her face. Snow chuckled, "Relax, I heard every word you said."

Conan brightened up, "You made a joke?"

Snow nodded, "How was it?"

Conan smiled, "Pretty good. Now, about Kyler?"

"Oh, yes, well as you know, as a necromancer, I can sense other's emotions with the slightest bit of effort. Justin was feeling deep regret when she spoke of Kyler. I wager there is more to this... firing then we understand. I think if we give it some time, Justin will eventually allow Kyler to rejoin the team."

Conan sighed, sitting down at the foot of the bed, "Every time Todd walks in here, I just want to grab her by the neck, and not let go until she stops kicking."

Snow smiled slightly, "Urges of homicide is usually Justin's style."

Conan shrugged, "Trust me, this is only the second time I've wanted to kill some one."

"What was the first time?" Snow asked.

Conan shrugged, "I wanted to kill Dr. Carter, the day Dad got me out of Cadmus."

"Why didn't you?" Snow asked, "It's not like any one would have blamed you, he wronged you terribly."

"If I killed him, then I would be just like him. The last thing I wanted was for him to have the pleasure of knowing that even though I broke away from him and Cadmus, he still had hold on me. Which is also why I forgave him for what he did." Conan said, picking up the human skull on Snow's bedside table.

Snow nodded, smiling slightly, "Some would say you were a coward, or a pacifist for doing that. However, sometimes it takes courage to walk away from a fight, and even the greatest warriors fight to obtain peace, not more war."

Conan smiled, "If I told Justin about my decisions, she would laugh, and say I was stupid to do that. Kyler would keep her comments to herself, but she would have killed Dr. Carter as well. It's nice to have a friend who isn't a juvenile delinquent, slightly insane, or one who had really bad anger issues."

"Who would the last one be?" Snow asked.

"Justin and Kyler." Conan said, smirking, "Justin is slightly insane as well."

"Homicidal." Snow corrected.

"Whatever. She's some version of crazy. Eventually, she'll be bunking with the Joker at Arkum." Conan said, flopping backwards, and putting her hands behind her head. Snow did likewise, taking a deep breath, and sighing contently.

Some one cleared their throat, and they looked up to see Justin standing there in her costume. She had her black Helmet tucked under one arm, the other holding the door handle. "Suit up, we've got an emergency in Star City, unless you wanna keep relaxing." She turned around, and walked off.

Conan turned to Snow, "You think she heard me say..."

Snow stood up, grabbing a wand off of her bedside table, "Who can say?"

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I pulled my helmet on, and slid onto my motorcycle, biting my tongue as Conan and Snow came up, ready to leave as well. I heard every word spoken in that room. I know what they thought of me, what most people think of me. I teamed up with Super Girl once, to stop Scare Crow and Penguin when they unexpectedly made an alliance, and every one knew how well that went.

FLASHBACK:

I smirked at the thug-like men tied up in front of me, Super Girl was behind me, she insisted I do the interrogations since it was 'the Bat-family's most admirable trait'. I took out my gun, and played with it a little, flipping into around in my hand while I smirked wickedly at the men in front of me. I saw a few of them shift uncomfortably, I didn't blame them, people tell me all the time that my smirk was creepy. Well, unnervingly cycotic was the term used most often.

"OK, who's going to spill the info." I shot one of them in the shoulder and he cried out in pain, falling onto his back. "And who's gonna spill the blood?"

Super Girl gasped a little, and I looked over my shoulder, raising an eyebrow, then turning back to the thugs. "Any takers?"

A few of them looked away when my gaze met them. One point for me. The man I had shot whimpered, trying not to put pressure on his shoulder. I slowly walked over, smirking down at him as I saw fear in his eyes. I smirked even more, loving that fear. I stomped down on his shoulder, hard. He screamed, cursing in his pain. My fists tightened on the gun handle, and the other one shook slightly. The feeling of people being afraid of me was thrilling, it was like I had the whole world in my hand, free to do what I pleased with it.

The others scooted away from me, and I took a batarang out of my belt, and tied one end around his legs, while I shot the other onto a lamp post, and they wound up, lifting him off the ground so he swung in mid air right in front of me. I walked up to him leisurely, and gently pressed the barrel of my gun right between his eyes.

"We're going to play a game." I said, the smirk staying right on my lips. "I'm going to ask a question, and if you don't have an answer, or you lie, I shoot you. Understand? Good."

He shut his eyes, and blurted out, "No! Please don't shoot! I don't know anything! I swear!"

"Well you shouldn't." I said, putting on a scolding look, one a Mother might give to her child. "It's not nice." I could still taste the soap Dick had shoved in my mouth this morning if I pressed my tongue to the back of my throat. Kenya and Rango had run past me, and I had stumbled, and had twisted my ankle badly, I hadn't screamed, but I had cursed... colorfully.

I don't know why I did, I hadn't cursed in months, but I cursed non the less. I really thought I had kicked that habit.

"Now, who hired you?" I asked.

"I don't know!" He lied.

I smirked, "You lied." I tightened my finger on the trigger considerably. "You remember the rules to this game, right?"

He whimpered, and I tightened my finger to the point were one twitch could kill him. I smirked. "Good bye." I said, but before I could do anything, Super Girl was in front of me, bending the barrel of my gun.

"Hey!" I protested.

"Black Hood, there are less murderous ways of gathering information." Super Girl ground out.

I frowned, and took a step back, "And there are less skimpy ways to dress." I said, looking pointedly at her short skirt.

She glared, clearly insulted, and said, "Go home, I can handle the rest of this investigation by myself."

"This is detective work." I protested. "And you aren't a detective."

"Then send Robin!" She shouted in my face, "I'd rather work with a demon child than a cycotic, trigger happy Todd."

FLASH BACK ENDS.

I frowned at the memory, I know I'm not the most sane person around, actually I'm pretty sure I have some kind of mental problem, but I wasn't going to end up in Arkum, especially not sharing a room with the guy who almost killed me.

I'll admit, there have been a few times where I've almost killed some one since becoming Black Hood, but I'm proud of the fact I haven't. I know I'm unstable, I have anger issues and urges of homicide, but I'm working on it. Kind of.

Conan grabbed Snow's shoulder's, and flew with her to Star City, while I rode on my motorcycle, dodging traffic and glaring through my helmet at the back of Conan's head.

When I pulled up in Star City, right in town square, I immediately knew what was going on. Judging by the three witches who were casting spell after spell and shooting up lights into the sky, making a northern lights right over Star City, they were doing something pretty wicked.

I smirked under my helmet, "Pass the 3D glasses and pop corn, would ya?" I asked as Conan floated down, releasing Snow.

She glared at my lack of seriousness. "Shut up and-"

Something that looked like black lightning nearly hit me, but she tackled me to the ground, pushing me out of the way. My motorcycle was not as lucky. My eyes widened, and I crawled over to the twisted heap of metal. I carefully reached down, and gently stroked what used to be the clutch. My shoulders started to shake as the witches shot out the black lightning at citizens. Conan awkwardly put a hand on my shoulder, "Sorry Black Hood."

I jerked my head towards the witches floating around, chanting their odd spells. "Oh no, you did not just reduce my bike to... to scrap metal!" I screamed, taking out my guns, and firing rapidly at the one closest to me.

She flicked the first bullet away with her finger, and then flying out of the way of the others, shooting black lightning at me. I jumped out of the way as Snow waved her wand at another witch, shooting out white energy. Super Kid flew up to meet another witch, and got knocked back by her lightning. I growled, ducking behind a car as the witch threw more at me, and another witch joined her in shooting at me. If I moved out from behind this car, I was dead. Or at least severely burned.

Suddenly, one of them cried out in pain, falling to the ground as something hit her and exploded. The other one turned to face the new threat, and I shot at her, hitting arms and legs, and making her scream, lose concentration and fall to her face. I stepped out from the car to see Speedy running to the rescue, bow loaded, aiming right behind me. I turned around to see a witch, She swooped down and grabbed me by the throat, yanking me into the air, making me drop my guns and grab onto her arm, trying to pull away.

She smirked at Speedy, "You hit me, you hit her, love."

"An Irish witch?" I questioned, gasping for air. "What's next, a black Easter bunny?" Her grip tightened, and I kicked at her, trying to loosen her hold desperately.

"Foolish humans, you know not what you do." She hissed. "This portal we have created will bring our lord Satan's demons from Hell, and he will rule over Earth as is foretold."

"Satan huh?" I grumbled, just as Speedy's arrow hit her, and electricity pulsed into her, making her scream, and drop me. "To bad I'm Catholic." I said, smirking.

Speedy raised an eyebrow, "Since when?"

"Never, it just sounded cool." I dismissed easily.

Speedy walked over to me, handing me my guns, "I think your gonna need these."

I took them, and then looked up at her, "I'm gonna need you too."

She smiled, "Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me." I said, waving her gratitude off.

"No... I know I messed up, and I never should have listened to Bo." She mumbled

I shrugged, "OK, whatever, enough with the girly sentimental crap, are you gonna fight with us or what?"

A grin spread across her face, "Let's make a big bang shall we?" She asked loading explosive arrows into her bow.

"Let's." I agreed, holding up my guns, but before I could shoot, a blur of white flashed past me, and charged at the witch who Snow was fighting, and took out a water balloon, throwing it at the witch. It popped, and the water got on the witch, making her scream in agony, her flesh burned and she fell to the ground, withering in pain. I watch speechlessly as the blur took out a cross bow, and shot a crucifix at another witch. The crucifix touched her, and she fell to the ground, powerless and Conan was able to grab her and immobilize her by tying her up with a lead pipe.

The blur stopped running as the remaining four witches all flew next to each other, and started reciting some kind of spell at made Snow gasp. The black lightning gathered itself up as the portal that resembled northern lights grew bigger, and I swear, I think I saw something on the other side of it.

I looked to the blur, to find it was a teenage boy, no older than me. He was African American, and was wearing this: .com/stories/22424962/desperte-revenge-11 (Scroll down the page until you see it.)

He took out a book, and began to read from it "הסתלק אתם שדים, מכשפות, והתכופף לעזאזל שליחיו!" של השטן! ה 'מצווה את זה!"

I frowned, was that... Hebrew, maybe?

The witches screamed in protest at the words, and flew off, and the portal in the sky slowly closed. I turned to the boy in white, and raised an eyebrow, "How did you do that?"

He smiled, "I got Big G on my side. I can do anything." He said, in a light ghetto accent. He had lived in the ghetto, born there probably, but his accent was stifled a bit. He had been educated, and his accent had slipped slightly, replaced by a new vocabulary.

I frowned and wasted no time in pointing my gun at him. "Who are you?"

"Justin!" Conan protested, "He just saved our lives! Put the gun down!"

"No he didn't." I said, tightening my grip, "Tell me your name, or I won't think twice."

He smiled slightly, "They told me you were going to be like this, they told me you were lost."

I raised an eyebrow, "Lost?"

He nodded, "You are searching for meaning. You're blind to see that you need other's help, you're blind to the fact that you need help in general."

I glared at him, "I didn't ask for therapy, I asked for a name, your name to be exact."

He smiled sadly at me, "Gabriel."

"Gabriel?" I asked, "Seriously? I was expecting something a little bit more this century."

He chuckled, "Not my idea, Justine."

My eyes widened, and I frowned, charging at him so as to knock him out, but when I jumped for him, he just disappeared. I looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of his tacky white costume, but saw none.

Speedy raised an eyebrow, "Who do you think that was?"

"Not who." I corrected, "What."

Snow walked up to me, and I turned to her, "What spell did he use just then?"

She frowned, "It wasn't a spell." She took a deep breath, "There was no magic in those words."

"Are you telling me, that he was just... talking?"

She nodded, "Yes."

I frowned, and then Conan spoke up, "You did see that book he was reading from, right?"

I looked up at her, and raised an eyebrow, "What about it?"

"The title was on the front of the book." Conan explained, "It was a Bible."

I felt something in my hand, and looked down, seeing a small piece of paper. I unfolded it, and looked at the note written on it. 'You will be in my prayers.' I bit down on my bottom lip, just hard enough to feel a sharp pain. I was in brand new territory now, dealing with a Holy Man. Justin Todd did not like being in uncharted waters.


	12. Are Your Reading?

I frowned at the huge book that was open infront of me. I had only read the first ten pages, and I was already bored out of my mind. There were sixtey-six chapters, and not one of them had a name that suggested it held the info I was looking for.

"Justin?" Asked a voice. I looked over my shoulder, and saw Kenya and Alyssa, standing there staring at me.

I looked around the library in the manor, nope, no one else here. So what where they doing here? "Yes?"

"Are you... reading a book?" Kenya asked, saying the sentence as if it was a completely foreign language to her.

I glared at her, "Yes, for your information, I can actually read books that aren't Grimm's Fairy Tales."

She frowned, "But... you never read books, unless it's homework."

I sighed, letting my head hit the table, and groaning. "I hate this book."

"What book?" Kenya asked, toddling over and pulling herself up onto my lap, and looking at the book, and frowning. "What's that word?" She asked, pointing.

I looked at it, and smirked, "Ye."

"What's it mean?"

"It's another way of saying you."

"What's the name of this book?" Alyssa asked, standing next to me, and pearing at it curiousley.

"The Bible." I growled.

"What's it about?"

I frowned, "From what I can gather, some guy called God."

"Who's He? What did He do?" Kenya asked, touching the page of the book gently.

"So far, He's some kind of superior, all knowing, omnipresent being and He just finished creating the world, everything in it, and then two idiots names Adam and Eve broke the only rule He gave them and got kicked out of paradise." I said. "Oh, and they had two sons, Cain and Able."

"What happend to them?" Asked Alyssa, hopping onto the seat next to me, and Kenya smiled, "Yeah Justin! Tell us the story."

"Well, apparently Cain and Able had to sacrifice ten percent of their profit to God. God called it giving tithe. God told them to give Him the first ten percent of their profit. So Able, the shepard, gave God the first ten percent of his flock. Cain, he was a farmer, gave God the last ten percent of his crops."

"What's a flock?" Asked Kenya.

"A herd of sheep." I said, "So this God guy gets upset by that, since he asked for the first ten percent, not the last. So he accepts Able's offering, but didn't accept Cain's. Then Cain got all PMS-Y and killed Able. Then God banished Cain and his wife from their home, and He put a mark on Cain, so no one would kill him." I paused, "He did that because Cain complained about having to leave saying people would try to kill him, but I think He did it because even though Cain killed his brother, God still loved him."

"Wow." Said Kenya, "What happend next?"

"He had a son and went off and lived in some place called Nod." I brushed off.

"Cool!" Said Alyssa, "Did that really happen."

"Course not." I snorted, "Christianity is boggus." I froze at my own words, and my thoughts drifted back several months, almost a year ago, the day I had died. I hadn't been brought back by the lasorus pit. I had seen my grandmother, talked to her even. She had talked about God, heaven. I had seen the pearly white gates and ST Peter myself. OK, so God was real. I believed that. Jesus, wasn't that God's kid or something? Yeah, he was real too I bet. I still thought Christianity was bogus though. Why?

Well, where was God when I was being tortured physically and mentally in the League of Assassins? Where was God when Joker was beating me with a crowbar? Where was God when Kenya had been nearly killed by that guy I had killed in the alley? Where was God when my Dad had died? I'll answer that for you, sitting up in heaven, twiddling his thumbs, and not caring at all.

Seems to me he cared about these people a lot, Adam, Eve, Able, even Cain. So why not care about us? We must have done something wrong, cause according to this book, God loves all of us. Yeah, what a joke. He probably didn't care because I had killed so many people. Yeah, that was it. Wasn't that one of the Ten Commandments? Thou Shalt Not Kill?

I sighed, and shut the book, and Kenya and Alyssa ran off to go play or something. I shoved the book away, and stared out the window at the front law. Only reason I had bought that book was because I was trying to understand all of this better. That guy I had seen last night in the white leather get up, he was a Christian. So, I figured I should at least try to understand the Bible a little more. It wasn't helping.

**AT DR, SNOW'S ROOM:**

Snow frowned, taking down a scroll, and opening it, skimming the colums of words, before frowning, and put it back, taking down another.

"Any luck?" Asked Kyler, walking into the room.

Snow looked over at her, and smiled, "No. But let me say, it is nice to have you back on the team again. I'm glad Justin came to her senses and let you rejoin the team."

Kyler paused, "Came to her sences?"

"Yes, Conan and I were very upset that Justin fired you over a personal quarrel with you." Snow said, turning back to the shelf packed full of scrolls.

Kyler blinked, and frowned. She didn't understand, "That's what Justin told you happened, we had a fight?"

"Yes, Conan came very close to quitting the team along with me, and start our own with you as the leader. It was wrong of Justin to fire you over something like that." Snow said, picking out another scroll.

Kyler's eyes widend, Justin had put herself in the line of fire... for her. Why? Justin could have told Conan and Snow what really happened, sure it would have made Kyler's life considerably worse, but it would have been Kyler's problem, not Justin's. Kyler found herself smiling slightly, Black Hood, the bad to the bone vigilanty with the die hard '_I don't care about any one but myself_' attitude, had put herself down in her team's eyes, just so they wouldn't know Kyler had almost tried drugs.

Snow raised an eyebrow, "What's the smile for?"

"Just happy to be back." Kyler said plainly.

**AT CONAN'S ROOM:**

I yawned, streched, and turned off my radio alarm, which had been blasting _I Hate Everything About You_ by Three Day's Grace.

I pulled on jeans, a dark red t-shirt, and floated downstairs, trying to get to the door without Dad hearing me.

"Conan!" He called out. I froze, letting myself drop to the floor, and slowly turned to the kitchen. Dad stuck his head out of the kitchen door, and smiled.

"I made pancakes." He announced proudly.

I bit my lip, and walked to the kitchen, sitting down at the table as he placed a plate infront of me. "Tell me what you think." He pressed.

I timidly picked up the fork, and cut a piece off, and put it in my mouth. I wanted to cry. It was burn to a crisp on the outside, and cold and uncooked on the inside. I chewed slowly, cursing whoever neglected to teach Dad to cook edible food, and swallowed. I felt like I was eating kryptonite, that's how bad my taste buds hurt me.

"Well?" He pressed.

"It's..." I struggled for something resembling a compliment that wasn't a lie. "Warm." I said finally, proud I had come up with something.

He raised an eyebrow, and picked one up, "No wait!" I protested. He bit into it. _Too late_. He stood still for two seconds, not chewing it at all, before running to the bathroom. I heard him spit, gag, and finally, throw up. I winced, and grabbed the lethal things he called pancakes, and flew over to the trash can, dumping them. I did the dishes, and heard Dad rinse out his mouth, and brush his teeth.

He walked out into the kitchen, sighing, "Those pancakes sucked."

I nodded, "Sorry Dad."

His shoulders slumped, "Can I cook anything edible?"

I thought for a minute, "You make good burgers."

He perked up, "Really?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "Your hot dogs are good too."

He smiled, and walked over to Krypto, scratching behind his ears, "Hear that boy, I make good burgers!" Krypto barked, and licked his face.

I walked around them. "Bye Dad." I said, waving.

"Bye!" He called back, waving to me as I flew out the window. Time to go to DR, and watch Justin brood all day about the new hero who showed up last night.

**AT DR, COMPUTER ROOM:**

Conan walked in, in her uniform, and looked around the main room, no one in sight. She timidly walked to the computer room, to see everyone gathered there. Kyler was leaning against the wall, fiddling with one of her trick arrows. Snow was meditating, floating in mid air. Justin, of course, was sitting in front of the computer, a bible next to her, and a video of the fight last night play in front of her.

Conan looked over at Kyler, "How long has this been going on?"

"Three hours. She set a record I think." Kyler answered, putting the arrow she had finished fixing into her quiver, and pulling out another.

"Considering who she lived with, probably not." Conan mumbled. She had no doubt Batman had probably spent more than three hours brooding about something.

"I heard that." Justin said, pulling out another book, a Hebrew to English dictionary, and flipping through the pages.

"OK... so... find anything?" Conan asked. Justin's little emo cloud that had been hanging over her all day, got noticeably bigger. "So... no then?"

The emo cloud got even bigger as Justin's hand twitched towards her gun. "I will shoot you Conan."

"Hey, I'm not the one who who's been brooding for three hours straight." Conan said, smirking slightly.

"At least I'm not the one with a ridiculous name. Super Kid? Really?" Justin challenged.

"I didn't choose it." Conan mumbled. "Besides, I'm not the only one bumming off my Dad's name. Both of 'em. Jason and Justin; Red Hood and Black Hood."

"Conan and Conner." Justin shot back, "Besides, I didn't choose mine either, and at least I'm not afraid of needles."

Conan flinched at the thought. Yes, she was afraid of needles, and pretty much hospitals in general. They reminded her to much of the lab she had practically been raised in. Every time she had to go to the hospital, or the medical wing at the Watch Tower, she expected Dr. Carter to walk around the corner, holding Kryptonite.

"OK, OK." Kyler interrupted, "How about we get back to the present causer of brooding? Justin, have you seriously not found anything?"

"Actually, I interpreted what he said. He was speaking in Hebrew, and he was speaking it very well, like he had been born speaking it. However, he sounded very formal, so probably not." Justin pointed out.

Kyler nodded, "Then there's his accent, I've grown up around that accent. He's from a big city, the bad side of a big city."

"Gotham Narrows." Justin said. "And his name is Gabriel."

"So, what was he saying?" Snow asked, who had been quiet this whole time.

"Get out of here you demons, witches and hell-bent messengers of Satan! God commands it!" Justin translated.

Snow nodded, "So if he's telling them to go away, he's a good guy, right?"

"Or he just doesn't want a portal to Hell being opened up in the middle of Star City." Kyler said. "Most villains I know wouldn't want that, and would fight to stop it."

"So villains here, are not all evil?" Snow asked, confused.

Every one was silent for a moment, until Conan said, "I don't think there is such a thing as pure evil." Justin stiffened noticeably, and Conan continued, "No one just wakes up every morning and think 'what can I do that is evil today?'. They really think what they're doing is either right, or justifiable."

"Shut-up." Justin growled, glaring at Conan, "You can't wrap your head around the fact that there is such thing as pure evil because your incompetent clone mind has never seen it!" Justin immediately turned back to the computer, and shut it off. She grabbed the Bible next to her she had been thumbing through, and left, every feature of her portraying anger. In short, she was ticked.

Conan, slightly offended, turned to Kyler, "What was that about?"

Kyler frowned, staring after Justin. "Don't know."

She knew that the only thing that could set some one off like that, to the point where they said something like that to a friend, would have to be closely intertwined with a personal experience. A bad personal experience.

Snow frowned, and went back to meditating. "I believe our friend, has kept great secrets from us." Her eyes started getting a white sheen to them, and Kyler stopped her.

"Don't!" Snow stopped, and Kyler continued, "Whatever's in Justin's past that set her off is none of our buisness, don't go doing the whole 'look into the past' thing. It's an extreme invasion of privacy."

Snow nodded, "Very well."

Kyler knew what it was like to think that some one was pure evil. She knew what it was like to think they were so evil, there was nothing human about them. She had told herself that before she had shot the man who had been beating her younger brother when he had been kidnapped. She could relate to Justin's statement, on some level, when she was angry. When she had a cool head, like now, she knew Justin was wrong.

AT WAYNE MANOR, JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I fell down on my bed, after getting home I had grabbed a shower, brushed my teeth, and had put on the pajamas my mom had gotten me. I normally just wore a tee shirt and a big pair of boxers, but since mom got them I had to wear them. They were thermal pajamas, Grinch thermal pajamas. You know, the green muppet-looking guy who stole Christmas? Yeah. Thank God Damian hadn't seen them. I looked at the Bible on my nightstand, and growled. I had finished the book of Genesis, still hadn't found anything about a spell that banished witches or anything about portals to Hell. Though I had found an interesting story about a Flood and an Ark and some old guy names Noah.

I yawned, and rolled over in bed, I'd read more later, even if God had never really had my back, that book had some great stories.

**OK, so Justin's been reading? Weird, right? And the Bible at that! OK, so, yeah all those stories from the Bible are really in there, first chapter, the one called Genesis. I know this because I own a Bible and I read it. There are some cool stories in there. My favorite is the one about Cain and Able. By the way, God gave Adam and Eve another son to replace Able since Cain killed him, and they named him Seth. Then Seth had a son named Enosh. Bible scholars say that Enosh was so pure of heart and sinless, that he could walk next to God, literally. See anyone else, it would have killed them because of their sin. So, yeah, cool fact there.**


	13. DADDY!

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

This chapter goes out to Sunnydayz56. We all miss you. (just a friend)

I found myself in a place I hadn't thought about in a long time, my old room when I had been in the League of Assassins. I frowned, going to the door, and fiddling with the lock a moment, before opening it. I walked down the hallway, but something was off. The lighting. I remember there was always good lighting, but it just seemed to dim. And the color of the light, it was gray. Everything seemed to be tinted grey. Even me.

I walked down the hall, and I saw Damian in the distance. I started to go faster, "Damian! Damian it's me!"

He didn't turn around, but some one stepped out next to him. Kyler. I stopped, confused, what was she doing here?

"So, your going through with your plan?" She asked.

He nodded, giving her a look that said _'I'm curious about what your going to do and your opinion on it.'_ "Yes, something you wanted to say? I know she's your friend."

"You're my friend." Kyler corrected. "You were my friend way before Justin, so if you feel like you have to kill her, then I've got your back."

I froze, what?

"With her dead, you'll be the leader of DR." Damian said, crossing his arms at Kyler, "You could be a bit more enthusiastic about that."

"I don't want you to kill Justin for me Damian, do it for yourself. She was accepted so willingly, and you were practically an outcast in your own father's home, kill her because of that." Kyler said, putting a hand on Damian's shoulder. Wait, Damian, he looked taller, older even. Taller than Kyler by a few inches.

Damian smiled down at her, and put his hands on her waist, and pulled her closer to him, "You always know just what to say." Next thing I know, their lips are locked.

I nearly gagged. God Almighty, what is going on here! I turned around, and made a break for it, running as fast as I could the other way. Damian wanted to kill me? Kyler didn't care? Damian was taller than me and Kyler now? Damian and Kyler were kissing!

I ran faster, until I nearly ran into somebody, Conan. "Conan! You're not gonna believe this, Kyler and Damian... DID YOU KNOW THEY WERE KISSING!"

Conan glared at me, "Why would I know, I'm just a stupid clone."

"Wait... what-" She pulled back her fist, and punched me through the wall. I groaned, holding my head, and trying to push the dizziness away. I staggered up, and looked around. My Dad was here, leaning against the wall, polishing a gun.

"Dad?" I question weakly.

He looked up, glaring at me, "What is it pest?"

My eyes widened, Dad had never spoken to me like that. Not even before he had known I was his daughter. "What's going on? Conan just punched me through that wall, and Damian and Kyler were just-"

Dad suddenly smiled proudly, "Oh yeah, Kyler! Have you seen her fight? That girl could get beat down to a blood pulp and still get back up and fight." He sighed wishfully. "Why can't you be that good Justin? Why can't you be like Kyler? I'd rather her be my daughter than you. Roy is such a lucky guy."

The words stung, and my eyes watered. "But, Dad-"

"Would you leave me alone already? God, your more trouble than your worth, little weakling!" He snapped, "Leave me alone, before I decide to save myself the time and trouble with a bullet to your brain."

I stumbled backwards, and he suddenly perked up, like he had just invented the light bulb, "Would you listen to me talk! Man, I have the best idea's ever sometimes." He stood up, and pointed the gun at me, grinning, "Bye pathetic, unwanted off spring of mine."

I could only get out one word before he pulled the trigger.

"Daddy!"

I sat up in bed, panting, and grabbing at the blankets around me, shivering. Lightning flashed outside my window, and rain poured down. I swallowed nervously, no guns in my face, no Conan punching me, and no Kyler and Damian plotting to kill me and kissing.

A dream, it was all a dream. My head turned to the door, I had to make sure it was all fake. I jumped out of bed, and ran down the hall silently. I stopped at Mom and Dad's room, and peered in, no one here. I walked in slowly, and the bathroom door opened. I turned, and saw Dad walking out. He raised an eyebrow, "Justin, it's three in the morning, why are you up?"

"I stay up till five sometimes." I whispered, staring at the ground. I didn't want to admit that I had a nightmare and had come running to my Mommy and Daddy's room. Dream Dad thought I was weak, I didn't need Real Dad thinking I was too.

He walked over, "Yeah, but it's your night off, you should be asleep."

Thunder cracked loudly, sounding like it was right outside the window. My eyes widened, and the image of Dad shooting me flashed in my mind.

I jumped at Dad, wrapping my arms around him tightly and whimpering at the lightning that had sounded so much like gunfire. He was taken back, but put a hand on my head, ruffling my hair, "Oh."

I loosened my hold, ashamed. I was an assassin for crying out loud! I'm not supposed to be afraid of thunder, or lightning, or being shot at, even by my father.

"It's OK." Dad said, wrapping his hand that wasn't petting my hair around my shoulders, "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

I looked up at him, eyes watering. His eyes were kind, caring, happy to comfort me, unlike in my dream, when they had been cruel and ashamed.

"You... you'd never shoot me, even thought I'm not as good as Kyler and I'm more trouble than I'm worth, right?" I asked, tears beginning to show.

He looked shocked, "Of course not, I'd never shoot you! No matter what, and I'd kill any one who did in the most painful way possible. I promise."

I sniffed, and the tears overflowed. I sniffed again, and he rubbed my back, "And your better than Kyler, remember? She might be trained by Green Arrow, but you were trained by me." He grabbed my chin and tilted it up to look me in the eye. "If I know one thing, I know the skills of my daughter."

I sobbed a little more, I remember when there was a time he would have said student, that time had seemed so far away. But of course it wasn't. Talia and the League were still out there, and they weren't ones to just let loose ends escape. Dad just held me there, until I yawned. Then he laughed, and I rubbed the back of my neck, "Uh... good night I guess." I turned to leave and go to my room, but he stopped me.

"You can sleep with me tonight, if you want." He offered.

I turned back to him, "I think I'm a little old to sleep with my Dad." I wanted to though. I was still shaken up from the dream and the lightning would probably make me run right back.

Dad gave me a look. He crawled into bed, and slowly said, "Three... Two... One."

Thunder clashed again, and I dove under the covers, grabbing onto Dad for all I was worth. He chuckled lightly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Stop laughing. This never leaves the room."

"I won't tell if you don't." Was his only reply.

**DR, SNOW'S ROOM, SNOW'S POINT OF VEIW:**

I tossed and turned in my bed, not able to sleep tonight. Justin's raging emotions had me wanting to shoot something, and I had never touched a gun in my life. Thankfully, the effects of empathy don't last long, and twenty minutes after Justin had left I was back to the peace-loving witch I normally was.

If my old mentor Morgan Le Fay had heard me refer to myself as a witch, she would have back handed me. She demanded me to refer to her and myself as enchantresses, but the term had always been far to silly and dainty sounding to me.

Lightning flashed outside my window, making the shadows in my room flash and spin. I shivered slightly at the skull on my shelf and the dead rat carcasses around my room. Maybe I should redecorate? I pulled down an old scroll, and slowly read over the inscription.

Prolong a warrior's life in battle

Wow, that was out of my league by a few years of practice. Unlike learning to fight, magic is a very advanced type of training. You not only have to say the right thing, move the right way, and concentrate as hard as you could, you had to feel the right emotion, anger, love, sadness. That was hard to do in the heat of battle, especially when you were scared, or in pain. I sighed, and read it over anyway. Simple enough directions, the words were easy to pronounce, and the emotion required was a deep feeling of protection and needed preservation over said warrior. Only problem, the concentration for something like this was pretty much off the charts. Meaning, I would have to think of nothing else while doing it. In the heat of battle, that could cause my death.

I sighed, memorizing the spell anyway. Effort without success was better than no effort at all. That seemed to be the logic in the superhero community.

Suddenly, light lit up my room, and I shielded my eyes from the bright light. When I opened my eyes, I was standing in utter blackness, in front of my old mentor, Morgan Le Fay.

I gasped, and she smirked, "Snow, it's good to see you again."

"What- how- why are you here?" I asked, the words stumbling out of my mouth.

"Is that anyway to greet your master?"

I bowed down low, "Forgive me, I was quite startled with your presence."

She nodded, forgivingly, and looked around my room, "No machinery?"

I shrugged, "I'm not comfortable enough with such things to have them in my room. I tried to have an alarm clock, but I ended up shooting it with lightning."

She nodded, and was silent for a good time. Finally, I asked, "How's Mordred?"

She shrugged, I knew she wouldn't say anything else on the matter.

"What is the reason for this visit?" I asked carefully.

"The boy you encountered." She said.

"Gabriel?" I asked.

She nodded, "Keep Justin away from him. If she chooses to fight with him, her fate, and all of yours is sealed."

My eyes widened, "Sealed how exactly?"

She just shook her head, and disappeared.

I sat down on my bed, trying to figure out what was going on. After ten minutes I sighed, and went back to bed. Mysteries were Justin and Kyler's thing, not mine.

SUPER KID'S POINT OF VEIW:

I was rammed into the side of the building, brick walls giving way underneath my weight and crumbling. I groaned, falling through the hole in the way, and shakily stood up.

"Bit out of your league girl?" hissed out Killer Croc.

I growled, "What are you doing in Metropolis anyway? Aren't you from Gotham?"

He hissed, his tail swaying back and forth slowly. "I'm here on experimental bases."

He lifted his fist, and I caught it, and tightened my grip. I took off into the air, and started spinning him around by his tail. He screamed, and I let him go. He flew into the side of an empty warehouse, and I flew down outside of it, waiting for him to come out.

He staggered out, and then fell flat on his face. I chuckled. "Experiment: failure."

I heard police sirens, and I took off. I did not intend for patrol to last this long.

When I got home, Dad was laying on the couch, sleeping. I shook my head, kryptonian or not, sleeping like that would mess up his back. I easily lifted him, and put him in his bed, and then floated up the stairs to mine.

My eyes were glued to the ceiling for several hours. I knew I should be sleeping, Justin wasn't going to let us rest until we had something solid on Gabriel, the narrows preacher.

I rolled over, pulling the pillow over my head. At least I didn't have annoying siblings keeping me up all night long, like Justin did. Kenya was probably sneaking into her room right now, same with Kyler and her little siblings.

I snuggled into my pillow, sighing contentedly, and falling asleep. Let Bat-Todd worry about brooding, I actually wanted to sleep.

**I guess this is a filler chapter then? Heh heh…**


	14. If You Want To Kill Hornets:

I had actually finished Genesis by now. Exodus seemed a bit more lively, but as fascinated as I was, I was frustrated, so I decided to go to an expert.

I walked up to the church, a nice looking catholic church, with candles and an altar an everything. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Wax dripping everywhere, leather bound bibles, and a hand carved wooden cross hanging over the altar.

I walked up to a nun, a young woman with brown hair and blue eyes, who was scarping wax off of the steps leading up to the altar, "Excuse me, I'm looking for the pastor?"

She gave me a funny look, and I quickly backtracked, "Um, or rabbi… maybe priest?"

"You mean the Father?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah that works." I said, shrugging.

She pointed to the wall, and I walked over, a confessions booth. I sighed, walking in. I had seen enough movies to know how this worked.

"Forgive me Father for I have sinned." I began.

"All have, and all sins are forgivable." He said, and I was surprised to find actually caring sincerity in his voice. Most people in Gotham didn't really care.

"Um… I actually came here just to ask a few questions. I bought a Bible the other day, and I started reading it, but it's so big, and I don't have time to read the whole thing." I explained.

"What questions do you have my child?' He asked. I raised an eyebrow, but let it slide.

I paused, there was no use asking him without revealing to much. I slipped on my black domino mask, and said, "A few days ago, Star City was attacked by a small group of witches. When I tried to fight them off with my team, a holy man ran in and took them all down. I need to know, how would he be able to stop them from reading from a Bible."

There was a pause, and the screen between us suddenly jerked up, and I turned to the man, he was old, hairs were more grey then black. "Black Hood?"

"Yes, my answers?" I asked.

"Uh… well some times wicked people and beings can be greatly influenced just by being in the presence of a true believer, or a blessed item, such as a Bible, or a-"

"A crucifix?" I asked.

He nodded, "I suppose. I never thought about it much."

I frowned, some thing in his tone was off, and his eyes, was that fear and hope I saw? An unlikely combination, it meant a hidden secret. A big secret, most likely.

The screen snapped back down, "If those are all your questions, I have some other things to do today."

"Thank you Father." I said, and left the booth, walking past the nun from earlier.

I stared up a the cross for a moment, before leaving. I didn't know much, but I knew one thing. The Father knew more than he was letting on.

**GABRIEL'S POINT OF VEIW:**

I walked into the main room of the church, not wearing my costume, but instead a long sleeve black shirt and straight leg black pants. Against my dark skin, they looked even blacker. I walked over to Father Simaun, "What did she want?"

He looked down at me, placing a hand on my should, "Answers. You have done well my son, she's seeking the right path now. In time, perhaps she will convert."

"She didn't suspect nothin, did she?" I asked.

He chuckled, "She's the Black Hood, of course she suspects something."

He walked away, and Michael walked up to me. (Thank you to Sunnydayz for this character idea!) "Wanna go train braw?" (That is me failing at writing narrows accent :[ Basically he's saying bro. )

I shrugged, "Why not."

**AT DR:**

"I'm telling, you there's more to that church then a house for God." I said, pointing at the hologram of the church floating in front of us.

"What?" Kyler asked, looking at me.

"They call the church the house of God." I said, "That was me trying to make a joke out of it."

"You failed." She said.

"I know this." I said, glaring at her to shut up.

Conan interrupted us, "Even if there is, we can't legally go in and sniff around without a search warrant."

"Conan, you have flown your friend Valiant around to help her commit vandalism, attended raves, and you are standing across from an assassin who has killed many people and a former Star City gang member. Since when do we care about legally?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kyler sighed, "Justin if your theory is right, and that church is involved with Gabriel, then my guess is that they've either got his protection, heavy security, or both."

"Granted." I said. "That is why we send in the indestructible Switzerland."

Conan glared at me, "Stop calling me that."

"Fine, now, all you have to do is go in, find one thing suspicious, and then get out in one piece. Oh, and don't let any one see you." I instructed.

She nodded, "How am I going in?"

"Through a window." I said, smirking.

She paused, "Justin… what's that look for?"

I smirked, reaching over the hologram and touching the front door, "About fifty years ago, this wasn't a church, it was an average billionaires mansion. Before he sold it and moved out of Gotham, he claimed that he heard things in the basement, but whenever he went down there to check it out, he never saw anything. People just brushed it off as a jumpy man living alone in a mansion with and overactive imagination. But, if that was true-"

"It means that things were going on before he got there. So if you thing there's some kind of secret room, or maybe even a whole organization under the building that means it's been there for a long time." Snow finished. Man, she was getting good at this stuff.

"And if it's an old building, then there just might be..." Kyler messed around with the hologram, and then smirked, exposing columns going up to every floor, like an elevator, but much smaller. "Dumb waiters."

I smirked, "Conan, get in, through this window." I pointed it out, and then the path she would take, "And then go down here, then get to the shaft. Hop in, and then ride it down as far as it'll go."

"There is no way I can fit into one of those." Conan argued. "We need some one smaller."

"Or maybe this?" Snow asked, pulling a vial out of her satchel she had taken to wearing around. It was filled with a dark blue liquid. "This will make you four inches tall."

A grin spread across my face, "A four inch tall Conan? That would be so much fun."

Conan turned to Snow, "Please tell me it's temporary."

"It wears off five minutes after taking this." She held up a much smaller vial, which contained a dark green liquid.

"Drat." I muttered, as Conan took both vials.

I quickly put the hologram to show the whole block the church was on. "There's manholes here, here, and two right across the street from each other here. Kyler, you'll be here, signal us if you hear Conan scream." Justin said, pointing to the roof of a music shop right next to the church. "Snow you'll be down in the sewers, waiting to help heal Conan if the worst happens. I'll create a diversion." I smiled wickedly, wondering how much gun power this would take.

Snow spoke up, "Um… Justin, maybe you should stay in the sewers."

"Why?" I asked, bewildered.

"Well, I had a vision that something bad is going to happen if you fight with Gabriel." She said.

I paused, "What bad thing will happen?"

"All the vision said was that you, his, and all of our fates would be sealed." She said, shrugging.

I paused, and then turned to Kyler, "Give me the odds."

She thought for a moment, "Well, throwing in the several facts of, one) Snow's experience as a necromancer is very limited. Two) you don't believe magic is completely accurate. Three) your stubborn and hard headed."

"Took you long enough to figure that one out." I smirked.

She glared at me, "Four) you're an idiot when you don't get your way. Five) Your Justin Todd, that alone is pretty concrete. I don't mean that in a good way. Six) I could intervene and probably end up saving your life…." She paused, "Odds are, you're going to brush of the precaution, and end up dooming something, but in the end, living. Or dying and then getting brought back to life again."

I paused. "Maybe I shouldn't… Eh, what am I worried about? I've already died once. I'll risk it."

"How did we all know that." Conan grumbled.

"Just take the potion and fly off already Space Kid." I snapped.

She growled, chugging down the potion, and making the most disgusted face I've ever seen, before shrinking until she was only four inches tall.

I smirked, but decided not to say anything. She tried to grab Snow so she could fly her over there, but found Snow to heavy for her.

"What's going on? I thought I had super strength?" She asked, her voice was high, and squeaky.

Every one paused, and then me and Kyler erupted into laughter, and had to lean on each other. Snow shrugged, "Just a side effect I suppose."

I had almost stopped laughing, until Conan screamed, "I will kill all of you!"

Me and Kyler fell to the floor, rolling around and holding our sides. I rolled into Kyler and we ended up hugging each other while still laughing our heads off.

It wasn't until Snow threatened to break out a potion to make us never be able to laugh again that we finally got a hold of ourselves and stood up, panting.

"Was that really necessary?" Asked Conan with her high pitched voice.

I tried to stop the laugher, oh crap here we go again…


	15. Then Hit The Nest

I darted across the yard, and then took off, flying through the open window and landing on the brown carpeted flooring. I Turned to look back out the window, but my head didn't even reach the edge of it. "Curse you Justin." I growled into the com link.

She giggled, "Not my fault the potion makes your voice squeaky and your height… well, you have no height!"

Speedy tried to stifle laughter, "You have to admit, if it were me or Justin, you'd be laughing too."

I sighed, floating down the hallway, "You are so lucky I don't have heat vision Justin. Your also lucky your bike is already a pile of scrap metal."

"We agreed that subject was taboo!" Justin yelled

"You agreed." I sassed, hating the squeaky voice even more as I crawled into the dumb waiter and used the rope system to lower myself down.

"If that Gabriel guy hadn't scared those witches off, they would have had a long painful death." I growled out.

"Yeah, well now the ones we captured are in a magic proof cell at Arkum, getting some much needed therapy." Kyler said.

"Didn't they hang a crucifix in each of their cells to keep the magic away?" Snow asked.

"Yeah." Justin said. "Hey, would a crucifix hurt you?"

"Yes. That's why I won't be going to Arkum anytime soon." Snow said.

"Cool." Kyler dismissed.

"You might wanna stay out of the church too." Justin advised.

"Is this gonna take much longer? I promised Austin and Olivia I'd be home for our monthly movie marathon." Kyler asked as the dumbwaiter got to the last floor.

"I stopped." I whispered, carefully opening the dumb waiter and flying out. I nearly screamed. There was a corpse right in front of me. An old, dead, corpse with rotten flesh and clothes on it.

I stumbled back, falling to the ground and hitting my head on the wall.

"Mike, you hear somethin?" Asked a voice down the hallway.

"SK, what's going on?" Kyler asked urgently.

"There's a dead body in here." I whispered as the voice came closer. I knew that voice, that was Gabriel.

Snow spoke up, "If it's unable to be identified, may I take it to my room to use as practice?"

"No!" Justin and Kyler hissed.

"Why not? Not like he needs his earthly remain now anyways." Snow argued.

"You can't just test your skills on dead people!" Justin shot back, "That's against the law."

"Besides, we're not qualified to transport a corpse." Kyler pointed out.

"Justin, I hear Gabriel." I whispered, not taking my eyes off the corpse. The eyes were missing (one would hope) and it's mouth was hanging open, the law twisted and barley hanging on. I wanted to get out of there, fast.

"Get back into the dumbwaiter then! Run girl, run!" Justin screamed. I flew back into the dumbwaiter, but the doors wouldn't shut.

"Come on, come on!" I pleaded, not having super strength sucked! Hoe did Justin and Kyler do it?

"It was over here." Said Gabriel, and I heard him walking closer. I shrank back into the dumb waiter.

"It sounded like it said your name man." Said the voice I didn't know.

"Probably one of the many girls desperate to be my girlfriend." Gabriel teased.

"You mean like that Black Hood chick?" Asked the other boy.

I practically heard Justin stiffen and glare through the com link. _I'm dead._

"I WILL KILL YOU, YOU ANGEL WANNA BE!" Justin screamed through the com. link.

Almost immediately the boys both ran to the dumb waiter, and yanked me out.

I glared up at the two boys, Gabriel's eyes widened, "Super Kid?"

I turned to the guy who was holding me, "Let me go!"

Gabriel shook his head, "Keep a good grip on her Mike, she's feisty."

Mike nodded, his grip tightening. I bit down on his hand until I tasted blood. He flinched, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Super kid, what's going on?" Justin asked.

"Help! They got me! Help!" I shouted. Gabriel quickly grabbed my head, and some how got that tiny com link out of my ear. He held it between his fingers, frowning at it.

"Black Hood, I know your there and I know you can hear me. You want your little friend? Come inside and get her. Yourself. No one else but you."

There was a pause, then Justin's voice came over the com. Link. "You hurt one hair on that kryptonian's head and I will personally escort you down to hell!"

I cringed at that tone. Justin was livid when she used that voice. I had only heard her use that voice once, and it was when I had fallen on Kenya's stuffed bunny and ripped it. Kenya had cried her eyes out in Justin's arms, and when Justin got me alone, I had nearly cried herself.

Gabriel snorted, "Sorry, I'm bound for a better place. Washed in the blood of the Lamb and all that."

I almost gagged at that image, and Justin's voice came out with a growl that didn't even sound human. "Don't patronize me you little angel wanna be, You should know by now that I'm not something to play with. If Conan isn't standing outside that church in five minutes, I'm blowing it to kingdom come!"

"With your friend still inside it?" Gabriel challenged. I was impressed, most people would cower at Justin's tone, but he stayed completely cool and collected. Unlike Mike, who was sweating up a storm and looking nervous, like he was about to get blown up.

"She's indestructible, she'll survive. Super strength and all that." Black Hood blew off.

"Then why hasn't she used her powers to get away yet?" Gabriel asked, a smirk forming on his lips.

There was a slight pause, "Don't try to fish without a worm on your hook Angel, you'll just be disappointed."

"Another way of saying 'you struck a nerve.' right?" Gabriel laughed.

"You know what I'm asking, outside. You have four minutes left. Don't keep me waiting. You should know I'm not a particularly patient woman."

"Woman?" Mike snickered.

"I heard that Michael." Justin said louder.

Mike trembled, and Gabriel laughed, "Well, well, well, looks like some one got a worm. Or at least they think they do."

"Three minutes." She commanded, "If I have to wait until one, you'll get a warning shot. Only one."

The line went dead, and Gabriel smirked. Mike shivered, "We better do what she said bro."

Gabriel shook his head, "Let me go get Mary. She's gonna wanna here this."

"No need." Came a voice.

I Turned, to see a beautiful girl with icy blue eyes and blonde hair walk form the other end of the hallway, carefully stepping over the corpse. She was wearing something that looked like a nun's uniform, but no headdress. The robe was a little shorter, mid-shin. It didn't have long sleeves either.

"Mary, how much did you hear?" Mike asked.

"Well, I saw little fairy girl here fly in, I was about to catch her when you two walked by." She turned to me, "Have you never seen a corpse before?"

I frowned at her tone, she thought I was inferior. Yeah, we'll see whose inferior when we're falling from six hundred feet in the air, nun. "Oh wow, Black Hood will have so much fun blowing _you _up nunny."

"Really?' She asked, not caring.

"Yeah you're the kind of girl she hates to deal with, and loves to break." I sassed.

"Break?" She questioned, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"She sees every one as her little playing piece. Every thing is a game to that girl, and there is nothing she loves more in her games than to get rid of a pawn after it's turned useless."

"Really?' She asked, ugh I wanted to yank her ear off so bad!

"Something tells me she'd get rid of you a bit quicker than most of her toys." I snapped.

She made a grab for me, but Mike pulled his hand away, "Easy Mary, all we have to do is give her back. She hasn't seen anything."

Mary snorted, "She's seen a corpse and she's being held captive, I think that's enough for a hero to get a search warrant, especially Black Hood. Commissioner Gordon trusted the Bat's little lackeys a bit more than he should." She sneered as they walked over the the staircase, carrying me still.

They started walking up the steps, jogging actually.

Gabriel smirked, "I think I can handle Black Hood."

He took out a small pocket knife, and turned to Mike, "Hold her still." He ordered.

My eyes widened, as the knife two or three times bigger than me came at my face. However, he only made a very small cut on my arm with it. It hurt, but it was better than having my throat slit.

He smirked, "She's vulnerable now, we can use that."

They ran faster, coming to the first floor and rushing out the door. They ran outside, still holding me and the knife.

"OK, we're here, and we have the kryptonian." Mary said loudly.

"Good." Said Justin.

They whirled around, seeing Snow and Kyler each holding one of the doors to the church open, and Justin holding a bazooka, and pointing it into the church. "Put her down and step ten feet away from her. Now."

Gabriel smirked, and placed the knife on my throat. "She's not indestructible, this knife can cut her. You fire that bazooka, she'll be a dead doll."

Kyler snorted, "Dead doll? That's what you come up with? Seriously?"

"What do you want?' Justin growled. I wiggled, trying to get loose.

"Take of the hood, and show us all who you are." Gabriel said, a deadly glare on his face.

Justin froze. I quickly shook my head no, she turned to Kyler and Snow, who also shook their heads.

She looked up at Gabriel, then to me, and sighed, "I take off my hood and you let her go, and all of us leave unharmed?"

"Yes." Gabriel agreed.

"How do we know you'll keep you part of the bargain?" Kyler piped up.

Mary glared at her, "Unlike you, we are children of God, we do not lie and we unlike you Black hood, we have ten rules instead of one. Something tells me you don't really care about that rule any way."

Justin sighed, and put the bazooka down, and grabbed her helmet.

I panicked, "No Justin, it's my own stupid fault!"

Gabriel pressed the knife harder, and I kicked and squirmed. If they see her face, it's all over. Not just for her, her whole family too. Even little Kenya. I couldn't let that happen, not over me!

Justin pulled off the hood, revealing her black domino mask. Every one froze.

"Well?" Asked Mary, "What are you waiting for? Take off the mask."

"You said I only had to take off the hood. You never said anything about my mask. You have to let us all go now. Your 'children of God' you have to stand by your word, right?"

Mary's face got red, and she opened her mouth to speak, but Mike stopped her, "She's right Mary, we have to honor our promise." He pushed the knife away, and set me down. Instantly I chugged down the green potion, and nearly vomited. It tasted like my dad's pancakes!

I started growing, and stumbled back, glaring at Gabriel. "Thanks for the scar."

He shrugged, "Thanks for the security breach."

Snow grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back, "I can see our encounter is over with. We will leave now."

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I glared at Gabriel as Super Kid and Snow flew off. Kyler put a hand on my shoulder, but I ignored her, putting my helmet back on and walking up to Gabriel, who kept on a decent poker face, but still not good enough. He was scared, the same familiar fear I loved, the fear I fed off of.

Before I could speak, he did. "I'm not stopping until I know who you are Hoodie." He snarled.

I glared right back at him, "Good luck. Your now my top priority. I'm not going to rest until I know every single thing about each and every one of you. Then, when I've got you in my grasp, I will use you, manipulate you, and drain you dry until you have nothing left to offer me. Then I will tear you and whatever this church is apart from the inside out."

I could see the fear in his eyes, I could sense it radiating off of Michael and Mary. However, to my surprise, he simply said, "Good luck."

I nodded, and stepped back, picking my bazooka back up. "If I were you I'd be much more concerned about what he'll do to you." I looked pointedly behind them, and they all turned around, to face Father Simaun.

I took that opportunity to slip away quickly with Kyler.

GABRIELS POINT OF VEIW:

"What is going on here, why were they here, and why was she holding a bazooka!" He nearly screamed.

I pointed behind me, "It's not our fault, she snuck in and-" I turned around to look at her, but she was gone.

Mike and Mary look too, and their mouths fell open. "That's creepy." Mike said.

"Annoying." Mary corrected.

I smirked, shaking my head, "No, it's a challenge."


	16. Mess With The Bull:

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I frowned at the bat computer screen, staring at a picture of a seven year old girl with honey blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Her tan skin was obviously Porto Rican., and her posture said she didn't really know much about what was going on around her. That wasn't the impression I had gotten last night.

"Who's that?" Asked a voice behind me. I turned to see Uncle Dick.

I smiled, "I didn't know you were back."

Ever since Bruce came back as Batman, Dick's been in Bludhaven, as Renegade, just like the Night wing costume, but red instead of blue and no finger stripes. I didn't like it as much as his old one, but I didn't say anything. Frankly we're all just glad he didn't go back to Speedos and Disco collars.

"Just here looking for a thug who knows to much, he split town and headed here. Figured I had time to catch up with every one." He said, smiling. This was funny to me, a guy who's trying to get away from a masked vigilantly ran off to Gotham… that's real smart. He turned my chair away from the desk and pulled up another chair, facing me. "So, what's my favorite little girl been up to?"

"New criminals, or heroes, maybe even nondenominational." I said, glaring at the screen.

"Nondenominational is the most dangerous." He commented, "What this little girl do?"

I typed on the screen a little, bring up a current picture of the girl. "She's not so little anymore. She's sixteen, next week, and her name's Mary. Used to be different, common Porto Rican name before she changed it. Used to be Marisa. She's in cohorts with these two losers." I brought up pictures of Michael and Gabriel.

"Michaels name used to be Jordan, he changed it too. Gabriel over here, his name used to be Latrell. Nothing unusual yet, right?" I asked, turning to Night wing, or, I guess, Renegade now.

He nodded, "OK, you've captured my interest."

"They all changed it at the same time, when they were adopted by this church." I pulled up a picture of the church. "Now, why would the church do that? Adopt three orphan children around the same age at the same time, all with similar back grounds and deceased parents?"

"You tell me, you seem to know." He said.

"Actually I don't. I have a few theories but they will remain unspoken." I pulled up a video of the fight taken by a street camera. "During the incident at Star City, Gabriel jumped into the middle of the fight and had them all subdued in moments."

His eyes widened, "The church trained them. Like in that movie, Priest."

"Only I really doubt they trained them for hunting vampires." I corrected. "More like, and this is a wild guess, they trained them to be either heroes, or trained them to be assassins to take down the heroes."

"Why would a church do that?' Dick asked.

"You have any idea how many people are crazy that are also Christians, and go around killing people thinking God is on their side?" I asked, throwing up air quotes around Christian.

"A lot." He said, "You're saying every one in this church is a lunatic thinking God wants them to kill us all?"

"Either that, or a very smart lunatic is running the show, and no one knows it." I said darkly.

He nodded, "What are you gonna do about it?"

"Figure out what's going on and shut it down." I said.

"What if they aren't doing anything you disapprove of?" he asked.

"Still gonna shut them down. Hard and painful." I replied.

"Harsh." He commented.

"Not my fault Angel over here made it personal." I dismissed.

He smirked at Gabriel's picture. "He sighed his own death warrant then."

"He was an idiot, Mike I might leave alone, for the most part. Mary over here is going to die." I ground out.

"Oh boy, cat fight time." Dick said.

I sharply turned to him, glaring, "Are you kidding me? Are you flipping mental? Is there something wrong with you? I was trained, by the freaking Red Hood for God's sakes! I was not trained by Cat woman. So no, there will be no cat fight you idiot. There will only be a very quick session of target practice." I muttered, turning back to the computer.

He chuckled, "Yep, you're Jason's daughter alright."

"I thought we had already established that. Where have you been this past year?" I joked, turning off the computer.

"Well, mostly Gotham, but most recently Bludhaven." He said, smirking.

"You're a little smart alec, you know that?" I snapped playfully.

"Oh, wow, you didn't curse."

"A lot has changed in the past few months." I said, sighing.

He put a hand on my shoulder, "Something you wanna talk about?"

"Not excessively." I dismissed.

"You sure?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We've just missed you a lot. Especially Damian. You might wanna go hang out with him awhile." I said, shrugging. "He doesn't bond with Bruce like he does you. Bruce knows it too, and he doesn't really do anything about it. I've tried going on patrol with him more, but it's not the same as when you two went together. Try to go with him tonight, would you?"

Dick nodded, smiling, "He can help me track down the snitch. How your parents doing?"

"Getting more bold every day. Yesterday I caught Dad buying some really girly underwear for Mom." I said, shrugging.

"Ew." He said, wrinkling his nose. That didn't last long. "What kind?"

"Ones I will never, ever, ever be caught dead wearing." I said.

There was silence for a moment, then he ruined it, "That lacey huh?"

My ears turned pink. "Yes."

He laughed, "Trust me kid." He put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "It gets worse."

He busted into laughter, walking away. I shook my head, "Thank you for a promising mental image of the near future Master Dick." I mocked in a British accent I had finally perfected.

Some where, Alfred was laughing.

KYLER'S POINT OF VEIW:

I hopped on the couch next to Austin and Olivia, passing them the popcorn as I pressed play on the remote. I had missed movie night last night, and tonight we were making up for it.

The movie was Mulan, since every other Disney movie Kyler pretty much hated since Disney was sexist. Could no princess out there fend for herself? Cinderella could have just run away, or better yet, pull a defy the man move on her step mother. Jasmine wasn't that bad, but they didn't own Aladdin. Austin snuggled up next to her as the movie came to a close. Kyler smirked at Mulan's Grandmother's last few lines, she would remember that for when Olivia got a boyfriend. Thank God that was a long ways away.

Olivia smiled up at Kyler, "I'm glad you could come to movie night Kylie."

Kyler was so glad she had not invited Justin and Kenya to watch Mulan with them. She never would have heard the end of that from Justin. "I'm glad I could." Austin and Olivia stumbled off to sleep, and Kyler turned on The Ringer, her favorite movie.

This was what she had been waiting for. A whole week of school, training with Ollie, making time for her team and her family had left her thoroughly drained. She leaned back, sighing in content, and curled up on the couch.

She had just reached her favorite part of the movie, where they all went out to a movie and came back to the Olympics, when her cell phone rang. She paused the movie and checked the ID, "Justin, this is my night off."

"I just wanted to tell you that I've got info on all of them. Where they grew up, what their names used to be, and the basics of what happened to them. They're all orphans, and they were all adopted by that church during the same week. With the skills Conan described, and ones I have witnessed an deducted myself, I think I can pin point a time frame they started developing skills."

"That's great Justin, can this wait two days? You kind of caught me at a bad time." Kyler dismissed.

"Whatever, I'll take care of them myself." Justin convinced. "See you in two days."

"You got it." Kyler hung up, and was about to press play, "Wait a minute… take care of them? Ugh, Justin!"

Kyler jumped off the couch, and in less than five minutes, was speeding down the highway on her cycle, in her costume. She took out her phone, and quickly traced Justin's call. "I'll kill you for ruining my night off Todd." She growled.

Why was she still ticked? It was very embarrassing for Speedy to be stuck behind two eighteen wheelers while she was driving in the fast lane.

**Guess this is a filler, but it's a ity bity bit funny, right? Ha ha, thanks for all the reviews guys! You know, I-**

**Justin: You're making way to many filler chapters.**

**Me: Give me a break, I can't just bring on a big fight chapter so soon after the last one! I have to let the audience simmer down a little bit.**

**Kyler: You could have at least let me cuss Justin out in my mind.**

**Me: Cursing is vulgar, and it does not make you look cool. It makes you look like you have a limited vocabulary because you don't know what else to say. Like my old Soccer coach, he cursed three to five times a game.**

**Justin: OK, you say next chapter has a big fight. Do I get to kill anybody?**

**Me: First of all, you don't kill any more! You only hurt… very badly. Second of all, NO!**

**Justin: … Just to let all you fans know, Ninja depends on spell and grammar check way to much. She sometimes miss spells 'the' or 'and'.**

**Me: I don't miss spell it really, I get confused typing sometimes and I get the order wrong. I spell it nad or hte. I'm not some super typing nerd.**

**Kyler: We're wasting their time, can we please conclude the chapter now?**

**Suddenly, a little girl screams a few hallways away**

**Justin: Oh crap! Kenya! *Justin takes off immediately***

**Me: Wait up Justin, it's just a night mare! *Takes off after Justin***

**Kyler: … uh… ok…. I guess I'll have to do this. *Ahem* Ninja was going to say thank you to all who have favorited this story. She had counted all the favorites, and the estimated total of Jason Todd's Daughter, Blue Jay, and DR has come out to around twenty. *Kyler looks to make sure no one is around* Hey, I know all of you like Justin and the Bat family, am I any one's favorite character? Super Kid and Snow want to know if anyone likes them best too. Just curious.**

**Don't forget to Review!**


	17. And You'll Get The Horns

I sat on top the roof of the church, waiting for Kyler to get here. There was a small thump behind her as the archer landed on the roof.

"You haven't started yet?" She asked.

"I was waiting for you." I said, smirking.

She shook her head, "Justin, one of these days I'm not even going to come."

"Harsh." I commented, walking over to the middle of the roof, where a ventilation shaft entrance was.

"Not really considering you constantly drag me off to the these things almost every week. Do you have any idea how much it sucks to not get that day off I've been waiting for all week?"

"Skip class, that's what I do." I offered, as she came over and we pried off the vent cover.

"OK, how do we know these'll hold?" She asked.

"We don't. They definitely wont hold both of us together. I'll go in, you follow me after ten minutes." I ordered, and crawled in.

"Got it." She whispered after me.

I crawled through the vents army style, not making any noise at all. I stopped at a vent opening, and peaked in. It was a kitchen, and some lady was bending over the oven, pulling out freshly made bread. I took a deep breath, and the smell made me want to grab some and run. However, I was not low enough to steal from a church. I did have a few morals, believe it or not.

I kept going, the next one showed a hospital wing. I took out the small camera I had, and took a picture. No church should have a hospital in it. There were heart monitors, needles, IV's and loads of other stuff that was way to advanced to have in a church.

I kept going, and the next one was a gym. Gabriel was there, sparring with Mary. I watched closer. She tried to hit him with a jab. I already knew that was a bad idea, he was more skilled than that.

He blocked easily, and flipped her over his shoulder, pinning her and wrapping his hands around her throat. "I win again." He taunted.

She smirked, "Ill get you next time."

He laughed, getting off of her. "I'm sure you will. But for now, we're going to have to take care of the little spy in the vent."

My eyes widened as his head snapped right toward me, and he ran up to the vent. He grabbed the edges of the entrance As I crawled away from it. "תן לי את הכוח של גבריאל!" He shouted, and ripped the entrance off with his bare hands, and jumped in after me.

I crawled faster, trying to get away. The vent was not a great fighting area. I suddenly backed into something.

"OW! Black Hood!" Kyler complained.

"Crawl, crawl, crawl!" I ordered. She got the message and we backed out quickly as Gabriel gained on us.

"You can't get just drop in uninvited Black Hood." Gabriel taunted, crawling after us.

Kyler backed out of the vent, and dragged me out with her. "Run!" She yelled. And we turned, running across the roof top to get away.

"You're that scared of me little girl?" Gabriel taunted.

I froze. Kyler groaned, "Oh crap."

I tuned around. "What did you just say?" He raised an eyebrow, and I continued. "I'm not sure I heard that, what did you just say!" I barked.

He smirked, "What? Little girl?"

I growled, putting my hand on my gun, and taking it out slowly. He understood, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two small crucifixes.

We glared at each other, mine outmatching his by a long shot. Mary crawled out of the vents, and stared at the scene before her.

"Kyler." I said quietly.

"Got it." She said, taking out her bow and loading it with and arrow, and taking aim at Mary.

Mary quickly pulled out a mini war hammer shaped like a cross.

"Last one done with their villain buys the coffee." I offered.

Kyler smirked, "Deal."

I charged at Gabriel, while Kyler fired at Mary. Gabriel blocked my bullets with his crucifixes, and when I got close enough, side stepped my attack. He swung one crucifix around to whack the back of my head, but I ducked, and tried to kick his knee. He jumped over my foot, and brought the crucifixes down on my head. I rolled out of the way, and jumped up, throwing a right hook at his face. He blocked me, and tried to punch my stomach. I twisted away and grabbed his wrist, flipping him over my shoulder.

He landed perfectly on his feet, and tried to spin kick my head. I ducked, grabbing his ankle and throwing him backwards. He landed sloppily but recovered by doing a back flip and then launching himself at my throat. I side stepped, but failed to see his crucifix until it broke my nose. I grunted, stumbling backwards and grabbing it. I glared at Gabriel. Time to bring out the big guns.

I cracked my neck, and unleashed all my fury at him, punching and kicking as fast as I could. He blocked most of them, but he wasn't _that _good, and I managed to hit him hard enough to leave a few bruises. He jumped back, and stumbled, having reached the edge of the building. I smirked, and took out the guns again. His eyes widened as I fired, the bullets embedding themselves in each of his shoulders.

He screamed, stumbling back and falling. I rushed to the edge, firing off a Batarang, it circled around his waist, and I braced myself.

When the rope went taught, I nearly fell with him, but I managed to stay standing.

I backed up, grinding my teeth and muttering curses in every language I knew. Finally, I had him on the roof again. He panted, trying not to move his arms as I walked over to him. The minute I was close enough, he kicked my feet out form under me.

I started to fall, but his hand shot out and grabbed me, yanking me back onto the roof, and under him.

He glared at me as he held me down, and I glared up at him. "Enough Black Hood, it's over!"

I smirked. "Not quite, amateur."

I kicked him off of me, and then jumped on him, bringing my fist down on his nose. It cracked easily, and I grabbed it, twisting it completely out of place.

He flicked me off, and I grabbed his shoulder as he stood, yanking him around and getting him into a head lock. "Now it's over."

"Not yet Todd." He hissed, grabbing my arm and twisting out of my hold. I hooked my knee around his, and flipped him over my hip. He fell onto his back, his skull hitting the roof hard.

He groaned, trying to stand up, but couldn't move his hands right. He looked down to see metal cuffs firmly placed around them. He opened his mouth, probably to say some other Hebrew spell, but I shoved my foot down onto his lips hard, silencing him.

"That's enough kid." I commanded, and looked over my shoulder to see Kyler standing next to Mary, who was firmly tied up, and the handle of her weapon broken.

Kyler smirked, "You're buying tonight Black Hood."

I shrugged, "Hey, you got the weak one."

Mary glared at me as I smirked, her eyes wandering to Gabriel, and filling with concern. I smirked, laughing a little, "Oh, did I hurt your little boyfriend a bit to much for your liking?"

Her eyes filled with hate and I yanked Gabriel up by his hair, and then firmly shoved my fist into his gut and then my knee into his face. He fell to the ground again, and then kicked my knee. It snapped out of place, and I fell forward a little. His heel rammed into my mouth, and I'm pretty sure that was my tooth that just flew into the back of my mouth.

I staggered away while he staggered up, both of us trying to push the pain out of our minds. We both leapt at each other, each throwing and catching one punch. I growled, trying to push my fist further while holding onto his, while he did the same. I shoved my foot in between his, and spun him around, before firmly planting a foot into the back of his head. He grunted, his chin stabbing into the top of his sternum, before whipping around and driving his right fist into my gut.

I gasped, trying to breath, while he grabbed the collar of my leather vest, and jerked my head into his forehead. I bit my tongue to keep from screaming in pain and rage, and pulled my fist back, before hammering it right below his sternum, the most vulnerable part of the human rib cage. He grunted, I had probably done some broken one or two. (That is a real fact, right under the sternum where the rib cage starts is the most weak part of the human rib cage, you can easily break their bones by hitting hard enough.)

He stumbled back, grabbing at his chest, groaning. I tried to high kick his face, but he shoved my foot away, grabbing my arm and twisting it harshly. I screamed, and he twisted harder, I heard a very loud crack. And intense burning pain. I put my foot behind his waist, took a deep breath, and shoved him backwards, twisting my arm even further as he fell. I yanked my arm back around cradling into my chest as I panted.

For pacifists, the church really trained these guys good. Well, Gabriel at least. Mary, now that girl was pitiful, hadn't even gotten a good shot in at Kyler. I bit my lip as my arm throbbed, glaring at Gabriel as he stood up. Hatred burned inside of me, pulsing, trying to burn a hole through me so it could get out and kill Gabriel. This was my city, my home field. This city belonged to my family, and no punk was going to take it, not even a punk with a Bible in tow.

He staggered up, glaring back at me. "Justin Todd. You are a sinner, you are filthy with sin and no regret do I see. I, then, will beat the filth out of you!"

He charged at me, trying to punch, I threw my arm up to block, my broken arm. To say that I screamed was an understatement. Dang, I practically cried out an almost inhuman sound that I'm pretty sure God could hear. If He did, I bet he flinched.

I stumbled back, and saw Kyler hold up her bow, ready to help if I asked. I shook my head, and she slowly lowered it down, as I cradled my arm, I looked down, and nearly shrieked again, the bone was sticking out. I bit back the pain, and glared at Gabriel as he charged me. Honorable fighting was now over, it was time to fight dirty. It may not gain me respect, but it sure would save my other arm. I side stepped, and shoved my foot as hard as I could onto his crotch.

He dropped to his knees, and my hand that wasn't injured chopped down like a knife on the back of his neck. I heard a small crack, and he crumpled to the ground.

I sighed, dropping onto my butt as Kyler ran over, gently grabbing my arm. "Black Hood, how much pain are you in?"

I glared up at her, "DO I HAVE TO ANSWER!"

She flinched, "OK, I better call Batman."

"Tell him to bring pain killer. Please." I stressed.

She took out her phone, "Got it."

I looked up to tell her to put Gabriel in a net, but he was gone, along with Mary. I groaned at the pain that was pretty much coming from every where.

Kyler hung up, and in two minutes, the Bat Plane landed on the roof, Bruce picked me up carefully, and set me down in a seat as he injected something into my arm.

"Is that going to help stop the pain?' I groaned out.

"No, but it'll make sure it doesn't get infected." He said, while I called him every dirty word I could think of in my head.

I have no idea how Gabriel and Mary got away with all thos injuries, but I do know one thing, I am not looking forward to house arrest until this arm heals. Maybe I can talk Alfred into helping me sneak out? It was just a broken arm after all.

**Wow, she is really like Bruce, isn't she?**

**Justin: No way, I'm being put on hold?**

**Me: Sorry, I can't just have you magically heal.**

**Justin: Can't Snow fix it?**

**Me: Her skills are limited. A cut is one thing, a broken bone (especially one as bad as that) is a whole different matter entirely.**

**Justin: Well what's going to happen while I'm out? Who's gonna run DR?**

**Me: Find that out next time, cause I'm done with this chapter. I don't know about you all, but I kind of hate this chapter. Don't know why. Your thoughts?**

**Review! Or Justin will kill you!**

**Justin: That's right! Review losers!**


	18. Kenya

Hi! My name is Kenya, Kenya Todd. I'm the adopted daughter of Jason Todd and Kimberly Mathilda. Justin says soon her name will be Kimberly Todd. Justin doesn't make cense sometimes, so if that sounds weird, blame it on her.

Anyways, this chapter is going to be all about me! I told this girl I met named Ninja that I missed being in the chapters more, so she gave me a whole chapter all to myself! I get to do whatever I want! Isn't that great!

OK, so since the last chapter, Justin got grounded for rushing into that fight without thinking and not telling any one where she was going. She's in her room hiding from society. Kyler has been leading DR since then, and they've been doing pretty good. Not as good as they had with Justin, but still, good.

So, today I want to go play with my Mommy. She's really nice, but when a guy on the street was looking at me one time, he started grinning really big, and Mommy beat him up and shoved him into a dumpster.

She taught me how to hack computers, it was really fun. She told me a lot of hacking codes that usually let you get into a lot of computers. Then, I got on Damian's laptop and tried to hack it, he caught me and kicked me out of his room, and called my hacking skills anemic.

I don't know what that means, but I'll take it as a compliment. With Damian, you have to.

I waddled over to Mommy, and she smiled at me, lifting my onto her lap. I looked at the book she was reading, it was nothing but pictures. Best book ever! "What's this Mommy?"

"A photo album Grandma and Granddaddy sent to us. It's from when I was little." She turned the page, "That's me learning how to ride my first bike."

A much younger Mommy was sitting on a red tricycle, grinning with big red lips. "What's on your lips Mommy?"

She smiled, "I had been eating a popsicle."

I smiled, turning the page. "That's when I went on a field trip in Kindergarten to Wayne Enterprises."

I smiled, looking at more until I got to one of her and a teenage boy with green eyes and black hair. "What about this one?"

She smiled, "That's me and your Father on our first date, Mom snapped it when we weren't looking."

"I remember that!" Daddy said, leaning over the couch to peak at the picture.

I giggled, jumping up and wrapping my arms around his neck, "Daddy! You're home!"

He picked me up, spinning me around, "Mhm, and guess what I got you?" He pulled out a M&M cookie. I smiled, grabbing it and eating it quickly, so Alfred wouldn't see.

I hugged him again, "I love you Daddy."

He held me tighter, "Love you too Kenya."

He shifted me in his arms, and bent down, kissing Mommy on the forehead, "How was your day?" He asked.

"Nice." She said, "Justin is still depressed, and in denial."

"Denial?" I asked.

"She doesn't think she did anything wrong. She says she handled it and we're all blowing this out of proportion." Mommy said, sighing.

"Well, maybe we are." Daddy said, sitting next to her.

"Why would you say that?" Mommy asked, raising an eyebrow and putting the photo album away.

"Well, she just did what any of us would have done. I mean, she's handled a lot worse. I know she's your daughter and you don't want to lose her again, but your smothering her." He said, putting an arm around Mommy's shoulders.

"Jason, I let her fight crime alone-"

"After telling us exactly where she'll be and calling us when she's done."

"I let her make a team and have a headquarters on the outskirts of Gotham-"

"With a tracker in her suit and she has to text us every half hour to tell us she's OK."

"I let her go wherever she wants-"

"With a tracker in her clothes and she still has to text you every half hour with where she is." Daddy said. "Honey when she was in the League with me she had a lot more privileges, and I'm not saying that she didn't get into her fair share of trouble, but she always came home. She's a tough girl, she can handle herself in Gotham and the League of Assassins. I know you weren't there to see her grow up, but honey, she's not a little girl anymore."

Mommy looked down, "I know that… but I never got to see her…" Mommy's eyes got watery and dad let me go to hug Mommy.

"Calm down, Shh, it's Okay. She's fine, and she'll be fine but you have to let her go." Daddy whispered, rubbing Mommy's back.

Mommy sniffed, hugging him back. "What was she like? Growing up?"

Daddy chuckled, "Cutest little kid ever. After she got over a lot of stuff that had been pounded into her for ten years, she was really a sweet kid. She hated abusive parents and she loved helping out the little kids. I think that was because she could relate, since she had grown up so rough. She was hard headed too, I distinctly remember telling her she couldn't have any beer until she was sixteen, and she snuck into the kitchen in the middle of the night, and chugged down half of a beer before I woke up and took it from her."

Mommy looked up at him, "Did she get sick?"

"A little head ache in the morning, and some nausea throughout the day but other than that no. I didn't tell her, but that kind of made me proud." Mommy raised and eyebrow and Daddy quickly said, "She still isn't drinking until she's sixteen."

"Twenty-one." Mommy corrected, glaring at him.

Daddy shrugged, "Whatever helps you sleep at night baby."

"What else?" Mommy asked.

"Well, I remember when I got her the first training gun, it was an AK-47. She was pretty happy, so happy in fact, that she slept with it. It was like her version of a teddy bear."

"Dad!" Justin complained, walking though the living room.

"What? You used to sleep with it between your legs. That's all I'm saying." He chuckled, then ducked, avoiding the book she threw at him.

Mommy laughed, "You're not grounded anymore Justin."

Justin raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yes, but no patrolling. You're still not ready to go out into the city. Not until that arms healed."

Justin paused, and then smirked, "About time."

She rushed out of the room, and I saw her running across the lawn through a window, running after Rango.

Daddy laughed, shaking his head, "That girls gonna get her other arm broken, playing with that dog."

Mom shook her head, "She's not playing with him, he's got her hat, and she's trying to get it back."

Dad paused, and then laughed, watching the scene. I cuddled up next to him, laying down in his lap. I love my daddy, and he loves me too. I think I'm his favorite little girl too. At least until I get to big to cuddle with and I start back talking him.


	19. Rango

I really doubt you're going to guess who I am. I mean, don't get me wrong, I consider myself a very important member of the Wayne family, but sometimes I'm a bit… underappreciated. No, I'm not Alfred. Every one appreciates him. I mean, where else would I get my food? Steak, chicken, pork, roast beef, hamburgers, lamb chops, and of course the most important food that has ever or will ever be invented in the human race, and probably a few alien races too, bacon.

Bacon is more than food, it's a way of life. I get bacon every morning, and sometimes bacon at night. Justin gives it to me when no one's looking. Know who I am now? Yeah, I'm Rango. Justin's ever faithful mutated dog.

Every night, I sleep at the foot of Justin's bed to make sure no one comes near her. I give Kenya piggy back rides around the front yard, and I try to be nice to Damian… kind of. When Dick came back to visit, I tackled him, happy to see him, but I made him fall onto a very old and expensive vase. I got thrown out for that. But Justin helped me sneak in later.

Then she gave me bacon, I love bacon! I love Justin and I love bacon!

I love Tim too! I like chasing Tim around the mansion, and he always runs from me. I don't know why, but it's fun! He always wins by getting in the bat mobile.

I don't like Krypto, Conan's dog. He's way to reliant on his owner to bail him out of every situation. He was a real wimp.

I heard Justin call me, and I perked up, moving my ears to try and hear where she was. She called me again, she was at the front door.

I jumped up, running to the front door to see what she needed. She, Kenya, and Damian were standing there, wearing back packs and carrying books. Oh no! They were going to that aweful place they called 'school' again! No! Justin's gone a long time and she always comes back smelling like old people, paper, and led.

I jumped up on her, tackling her and rapidly licked her face. _No! Don't go Justin! Stay here with me! We can eat bacon all day and play catch and we can give Kenya piggy back rides until it's to dark! Then we can eat more bacon!_

Justin just laughs, and pushes me off of her as she and Kenya hug me and scratch my ears. Alfred walks up, "Hurry now children, or you'll be late for school. Damian, please don't get into trouble, your Father is getting tired of going to parent teacher meetings and getting glared at. Kenya, are you taking your knife to school again?"

Kenya freezes, and hands Alfred a knife. He shakes his head, "Ah, the wonder of parent's genetic issues being carried on."

Justin chuckles, and Alfred turns to her, "Did you study for your Chemistry test?"

"Nope." Justin says, smiling.

Alfred sighed, "Oh well, what's another failed test in the pursuit of teenage debauchery?"

Justin shrugs, and Kenya latches on to my, hugging my tightly. Alfred sighed, trying to pull Kenya away, "Miss Kenya, please let go of Rango."

"But I love him!" Kenya protested, however she let go, and they left.

Alfred closed to door, and I heard Justin asked Kenya, "You still have the small knife in your shoe and the pepper spray in your sleeve, right?"

"Uh huh." Kenya said, grabbing Justin's hand.

I whined, my ears laying back a little. Alfred pats my head and walks off, saying, "Never fear Master Rango, they shall be back again."

I trotted after him, for lack of anything better to do. He raises and eyebrow, "Monday Morning blues?"

I whine, and he chuckles, "Master Timothy is in the cave working on something. Why not go keep him company?"

I perk up, and run off, getting into the cave like Justin showed me and running to the Bat computer, tackling and unsuspecting Tim.

"Agh!" He shouts, trying to push me off. "Get off me!"

I grab his cowl in my teeth and run off, him chasing after me for once. "Give that back right now you Mutt!"

I freeze, whirling around and dropping the cowl, growling and barring my fangs at Tim in the most menacing manner possible. I wasn't really mad, but messing with Tim was fun.

Tim backed up so fast he tripped on his cape, and took off for the bat mobile. I ran after him, laughing silently.

This time, I tackle him before he gets there, and lick his face rapidly. _Come on Tim! We have to go save Justin! She's at that horrible place called school!_

Tim sprays something in my face, and it burns! Oh dear Lord it burns! I whine, jumping off him and rubbing my face against my front paw as my nose burns like it's on fire. I bark, staggering around with my eyes closed. Tim, I will lick you to death for this cowl face! You smell like Super boy you gay lord!

I run out the cave, trying to get my face clear of the awful burning peppery smell.

I rush into the kitchen, whining as loud as I can.

Alfred flies to my side, wiping my face and making the bad burn go away. I lick his cheek, barking a thank you, and I trot out of the kitchen. I will save Justin!

I run out the front door, nose to the ground as I rush out of Wayne Estate.

When I got to town, I lost Justin's scent in the middle of every one else's.

I walked down the side walks, until I saw a pick up truck on the road, and I hopped in the back of it.

It drove past a building that smelled like pizza and bacon. I jumped out, walking over to a man eating with his daughter. They smelled familiar. I barked, and they winced, looking over at me. They both had black hair and piercing blue eyes. The man sighed, throwing me a bread stick, and I jumped, catching in between my teeth and wolfing it down.

"I think that's Justin's dog." Said the girl.

I walked up sniffing the man, and then barked again. They both grabbed their ears, glaring at me. "Don't you have a Wayne to terrorize?" The man asked.

"Shouldn't you be at Wayne manor?" The girl asked. That's when it clicked, this was Tim's friend Conner, and Justin's friend Conan.

_Oh thank bacon! Listen, Justin's in trouble, Kenya and Damian too! They went to school and I have to save them but I can't find what ever school is. Can you help me?_

Conan glared at me, "Stop barking, it's painful?"

I turned my head sideways, perking my ears up. She sighed, going back to eating her pizza. "Isn't Justin in school today?" Her dad asked.

I sprang up on his lap, barking yes.

He shoved me off, "I'll call Tim, see what's going on." He took out his phone to call Tim, and I turned to the pizza. My eyes widened. Meat lovers. Bacon, pork, pepperoni, and Italian sausage. How was it possible to fit so many good things on one circle. My stomach growled, and Conan's eyes widened.

"Dad, he's going to grab the-" I snatched a piece of pizza up in my mouth, and took off down the street, "pizza." Conan finished as I ran off.

I ducked into an alley way, scarfing it down. I stood up, licking my lips and walking out of the alley. I walked down the street, looking for Justin. People gave me weird looks. I think that's because I'm blue.

I used to be a different color, you know. I used to be dark brown. Just a nice plain color I guess. I like it better now, ever since that guy with the bag on his head grabbed me and hurt me.

Huh… maybe I should find him and chase him around, give Tim a little break.

Suddenly, I heard little kids, screaming. _Justin! Kenya!….. And Damian._

I took off, rounding the corner, and nearly colliding into a fence. I jumped over it, landing in a play ground. There weren't any older kids here, this can't be Justin's school. I looked around and saw Kenya playing with that girl Alyssa. She didn't look like she was being tortured, she looked like she was having fun. So Justin's school and Kenya's school weren't the same place, huh? Ok, well I'll just have to find Justin then.

I jumped back over the fence, trying not to be seen, and kept walking. I put my nose to the ground, sniffing deeply, trying to get a whiff of Justin.

I looked up, trying to hear her threatening Damian or calling my name. Nothing. I sighed, and kept on walking, sniffing the ground every now and then. Then, something caught my attention. Damian's scent.

I followed it to a big building that said 'school' on the front. Now you might be thinking I can't read because I'm a dog, but I can. Small words. Ever since that Scarecrow guy, as Justin called him injected me with that weird stuff, I've been able to.

I walked around the school, seeing boys playing basket ball, and girls playing tennis. I walked further, to the bleachers, and saw a figure under them, hiding from every one else. I sniffed the air, and then took off, jumping through the metal and tackling the person, licking their face rapidly.

"Ugh! Rango, stop!" Justin said, pushing me off. She scratched my ear, and I leaned into her hand, I love this girl.

I barked, and she smiled, "What are you doing here boy?"

_I came to rescue you from this awful place! Come home and lets eat bacon and play with Damian's base ball._

"Were you lonely boy? I haven't been spending much time with you lately have I? Tell you what, I'm up for ditching school and getting grounded for a week to play a little game of catch with you."

_Finally some one understands me!_

She got up, and we snuck out of the school. It felt so good to have saved Justin from this awful place.

When we got home, Justin crawled through the window instead of the front door. Huh, people are weird.

She came back with a base ball, and we played catch for a few hours. She could throw it pretty far, and I loved jumping up and catching it in the air. I did that with guns too, the ones she knocked away from big guys in back alleys.

After awhile, she got tired and we laid down.

"It's been a long time since we did that, huh?" I barked in agreement.

"I forgot how it felt, it's fun." I curled up next to her, laying my head onto her stomach.

She pet my head, "The sooner this arm gets out of this brace the better. I can't wait to go right back to that church and give Gabriel a piece of my mind. I don't get what he's playing at. He saves Star City, even though we could have done it with out him. Then he just drops off the map almost. If I hadn't gone to that church I never would have found him. Everything was so much less complicated before that Jesus Freak came around."

I whined, sensing her frustration. I just wanted her to have a nice time. She smiled, scratching my ear, "OK, no more business. Mom'll be home soon and we have to hide so she thinks we didn't skip school. Then it's just a matter or intercepting the phone call and imitating Dad's voice."

"No need." Said Jason as he walked up behind us, holding up his cell phone. "They called me five minutes ago. Next time you wanna skip school, don't come home. Go to the park and hang out there for the day. He laid down next to us, staring at the clouds.

"You're not mad?' Justin asked.

"Why would I be mad?" He asked, smirking at her. "You called me to pick you up because your arm started hurting and I got you pain medication." he handed her a stick of chewing gum.

She shrugged, taking it, "You got it."

She unwrapped it and was about to eat it, but I snatched it, scarfing it don. That pizza didn't really do much for my appetite.

Justin's phone rang, and she answered it. After a few minutes she turned to me, "Why did you steal Conan and her dad's lunch?"

Jason laughed, I just licked Justin's face. I was happy, I loved this girl, even more than I loved bacon. Oh! My head jerked towards the mansion. Alfred's making bacon! I grabbed Justin by the shirt sleeve, and practically dragged her into the kitchen. Bacon!


	20. Author's Note

OK peoples, here it is, the famous author asking for advice thing. I have plenty of ideas for this story in the future, but currently I'm in need of an OC. I already have minor parts of their costume picked out, and a bit of personality, but no name or physical description.

So, who wants to toss me ideas for an OC?

Requirements:

They will be male. End of discussion.

They may or may not be meta human or have powers. Depends on if any of you give me ORIGINAL power ideas. Not brand new ideas, but lets not saddle him with something that's been done a million times, like flying or telepathy or telekinesis. OK?

His style will be Steam Punk. Look it up, it's awesome stuff, I'm telling you.

Anything you wanna throw in for his personality is cool too. I'm pretty much open to anything.


	21. Picnic? NO! Part One

**OK, so someone messaged me asking about the extent of Rango's powers, so let me clear it up right now.**

**He has a much higher intelligence level than an average dog, he has a very small version of super speed (no where near Super man or Flash). He had superior agility and flexibility. That is all. Oh, and he doesn't really understand everything humans do, but he gets the gist of it all.**

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

The darkness was everywhere. I knew it was dark, and cold. I could feel hard, cold concrete floor beneath me. I tried to run my hand over it, and push myself up, but my hands wouldn't move. They were hand cuffed. That made me nervous. I tried to open my eyes, and they slowly did. Everything was burry, and I couldn't move right. Was I drugged? No, I knew what that felt like, Dad had drugged me before so I would know what it felt like. So that if I ever was, I could fight it off better, and know what had happened to me.

I hadn't been drugged, so I must have been hit in the head. I turned my head to look to the side, and pain burst from one larger than normal area of my skull. Crap. I had been hit hard, and it was swelling.

I heard a dark chuckle from the other end of the room, and my head snapped in that direction. Pain burst again from the bump. I ground my teeth lightly, trying not to wince or show pain. It displayed weakness, and weakness was not tolerated in any way, shape, or form by anyone.

What I saw made me glare, a tall figure, holding a knife that shone in a deadly way in the dark room. I can't feel my mask on my face, and that, above everything, makes me feel like I'm in danger.

I tried to pull my hands closer, so as to cover my face, but a foot stomping down on them stops me. I grind my teeth, the grimace on my face being a poor disguise for the wince I know I had let slip.

The foot rocked back in forth, like a rolling pin, doing even more bone damage as I heard a small crack from my right pinky finger. One of the bones on it was now broken.

A small intake of air was all this captor got out of me, and that made him chuckle again. I glared up at his face, and I couldn't see anything. I tried to kick him, but the minute I moved my leg, his other foot stomped down on the knee cap from an angle. I heard the small crackle before I felt the pain, and the loss of control. He had snapped my knee cap out of place.

I cried out, grinding my teeth together as the scream echoed off of the walls. He chuckled again, removing both of his feet as he crouched down next to me, I turned to him, and this time, I could see his eyes.

"We're gonna have a lot of fun Justin." He said, putting his knife on my left bicep. "You ready to play?"

A lot of things could have scared me, the knife, the pain, the fact I was hand cuffed, no mask on my face, but what scared me most of all, was his eyes. They were the most deadly and murderous green eyes I had ever seen. He chuckled at the look of sheer terror on my face, and brought the knife down.

"Justin!" Screamed Kenya as she raced into my room.

I shot up, gasping at the sudden change of view. Rango shot up too, alarmed at first, but then relaxed as he saw it was only Kenya. He whined softly, putting his head down and his paws over his ears. Smart dog. Kenya jumped onto the bed, jumping up and down right next to me.

I pulled the pillow over my head. "Whaaaaaat?" I groaned through the pillow.

"Come on Justin! It's the picnic!" Kenya laughed, jumping on top of me. I grunted, grabbing her and wrestling the protesting toddler down next to me and getting her in a death grip/bear hug.

"What picnic?" I asked, cuddling her.

She wiggled out of my grip, since I was way to tired to hold on tight enough to keep a hyper five year old in my arms. "The Justice League picnic! Come on, get up!"

Rango stood up on my bed, grabbing the pink hood of Kenya's bunny rabbit Hoodie and lifting her up, jumping off the bed and dragging the girl out the door, and then running back in, shutting the door by shoving it with his shoulder. He jumped back into bed, laying down once again.

"Good boy." I commented.

However, Rango failed to lock the door. Kenya burst in again, jumping on me and shacking me, "Justin, please wake up! It's the picnic."

"I'm not going." I said, shoving her away.

"Why not?' she pouted.

"I'm not part of the Justice League." I said, snuggling into my pillow.

"You're coming Todd." Damian said, passing my door way.

I sat up, "Why!"

"Because your Mom says so." He retorted, and walked away.

I froze, not believing it, and then groaned as Kenya cheered. I fell back against the pillows, not wanting to wake.

Kenya jumped on the bed a little, more before leaving the room. I heard her walk in a few minutes later, with some one else in tow. "Kenya…"

A REALLY loud horn blasted right next to my ear, I screamed, shooting up and grabbing onto Rango, but I couldn't heard the scream over the horn. Finally, the noise ended, and I turned to look at Kenya, covering her ears and grinning madly, and Tim, holding a blow horn.

They ran out before I could scream out a few choice words. Ehh… Kenya didn't need to hear that language anyways.

Rango growled softly, not liking the idea of waking up. "I don't wanna go either." I mumbled, laying down again and staring at the ceiling.

I didn't even hear some one come into my room, but I sure felt some one grab my feet and yank me out of my nice warm bed and onto the cold hard floor.

"Get up now. If I have to go to this stupid picnic and be social, so do you, you little bat brat." Growled my dad.

I looked up at him, confused. "You're going?"

"Your Mom said I had to." He grumbled.

"Why do we both have to suffer?" I complained.

"Rango's going too." Dad said, walking out. "Get dressed both of you, in costume."

I grumbled under my breath, and got up, walking down to the bat cave with Rango (who was whining softly the whole way) and got changed in our costumes.

I suddenly had an idea, and grabbed my cell phone, dialing a quick number and waiting not so patiently for her to pick up. Finally, she did.

"Yes Justin?"

"My mother is making me go to the picnic! Save me!" I commanded.

She was silent, "The JLA family outing picnic?"

"Yeah that one." I said.

"Sorry, no can do." She said.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"You'll see when you get there." She hung up.

I growled, shoving the phone into my pocket, "Jerk."

Mom suddenly grabbed my arm, tugging me into the bat mobile, and shoving my into the passenger seat, "Behave Justin." She said, frowning and crossing her arms.

I groaned, "Why do I have to go?"

"Because, it's a family outing, which means the whole family." She said firmly.

"Why can't I ride on my motorcycle?" I asked, a plan hatching in my mind. My old bike had gotten completely wiped out by the witch, and I had gotten a new one pretty quickly. I liked the old one better, but this one was OK.

"Because you'll just drive away and none of us will see you until tomorrow morning." She said, glaring at me.

I paused as Batman got into the driver's seat. Then I shrugged, "Ehh, what can I say? You know me."

She nodded stiffly, walking away. I looked over at Batman, and I knew he was smiling, on the inside.

The car ride was mostly silent, until I got board, "Which button is the radio?"

"There is no radio." He said.

"Liar."

"Shut up."

I sighed, staring out the window, "You know, if I get bored enough, I just might steal the tires for fun."

"You're just like your father." Bruce said.

"I never get tired of hearing that Brucey." I said, smirking at him.

"That's not a good thing." He said, shooting down my mental rainbow.

I blinked, "Why? I think being like him is pretty awesome."

"It nearly got you killed." He pointed out.

I tensed up a little, glaring at him, "Being like my Dad didn't nearly kill me, the Joker being himself nearly killed me."

He shook his head, "You're reckless."

"Don't really care." I said, shrugging. "I get my job done just like every one else."

"Do you want to die and not come back?" He snapped.

I sighed, "Look, if you're trying to get me responsible and careful, you're going to fail. No offence, but I'm me. I'm not Dick, the perfect little first born, and I'm not Tim, Dad's favorite little boy. Dad would kill himself and then me if I started going all Stephanie on him, and we already have one Demon Wayne boy running around, take a moment to think of having two." I paused, watching him contemplate that. "Being a second Jason doesn't sound so bad now, does it?"

"That's not the point." He said.

"Hey, guess what dad, Grandpa Bruce is trying to tell me I shouldn't be like you anymore even though it' one of the few things that makes you happy and I'm totally the reason you came home." I said, smirking.

"You wouldn't." He tested.

"Think about who you're talking to." I said.

Silence. Until I got board.

"BUDDY YOU'RE A BOY MAKE A BIG NOISE PLAYIN IN THE STREET GONNA BE A BIG MAN SOMEDAY YA GOT MUD ON YA FACE, YA BIG DISCRACE KICKIN YOUR CAN ALL OVER THE PLACE!"

He stomped on the brake, and my head hit the dash. "Ow!"

"Oh look, we're here."

I groaned, falling out of the door and rubbing my forehead. Kenya, wearing a pink cat suit with a pink trench coat and a pink domino mask that was connected to a head band which also had pink bunny ears, ran over to me, blonde curls bouncing up and down and she grabbed onto my hand. "Come on Justin, I wanna go play!"

"With who?" I asked, ignoring the need to grab Kenya and throw a black cape over her so as to not be embarrassed by her. "There's no kids here your age."

"Think again." Said Speedy, walking up to me with a little kid under each arm. Oh yeah, Olivia and Austin. Olivia was wearing a white shirt with a white skirt, white leggings and a white domino mask with a black spot right in the middle. Austin was wearing black jeans with a black tee shirt and a black domino mask with a white spot right in the middle.

"No Kylie!" Protested Austin.

Speedy slapped a hand over his mouth, even though it seemed impossible to Justin to do that since she was also holding him up with the same hand. "I told you, you have to call me Speedy."

"Speedy! I don't wanna be held up, put me down!" Austin barked.

"Yeah!" Olivia chimed in, "Down!"

Kyler dropped them, and I swore she smiled when they said ow. I did too.

Kenya let go of my hand, and sprinted away towards… whatever she wanted to go towards.

"Stuck babysitting?" I asked.

"Unfortunately." She said, shrugging as her siblings ran after Kenya.

"Why are you here?" I asked. "You're not part of the Justice League. Neither is Green Arrow, right?"

"No, but his girl is, and he made me come with him as an excuse to, and I quote 'introduce her to the outstanding hero's she'll spend the rest of her life socializing with'." Kyler complained, looking over at the picnic area where Green Arrow was hitting on Black Canary.

"Wow." I said, "I didn't think they were still dating."

"They aren't, but Ollie's still head over heels." She complained.

I nodded slowly, watching Ollie. "Pity."

"Sad really." She commented. "So why are you here?"

"Mom made me, because apparently this is a family outing." I complained.

"Why bring Kenya? I mean, I know that she'll eventually be rushing over Gotham roof tops in a cape, but isn't she a bit to young to be starting?" Kyler asked.

I froze for a moment, "She isn't starting Kyler, I mean, she only came because there was no one to baby sit."

"Alfred?"

"Bruce gave him the day off." I said. "Kenya's gonna be a normal kid, she's not going to be a vigilante, I mean, she has her whole life ahead of her."

"A life around your family, learning from their behavior and hobbies?" Kyler asked.

I paused, "I better teach her how to use a gun, and fast."

"Why?" Kyler asked.

"Cause I don't want her running around with Night Wing's chop sticks and dressed in a disco collar!"


	22. Picnic? NO! Part Two

I sighed as I watched Kenya run around with her friends, her bunny ears flapping all around. Dear Lord, why did Alfred let her wear those things? Kyler sat next to me, watching her little brother and sister play tag with Kenya as some red headed girl with a costume that resembled Flash walked over.

"So, when are your little siblings entering the hero community?" I asked.

"They aren't, I don't bring my habits home with me, so they won't learn it." She said.

"Some things are in the blood Speedy." I pointed out.

"They don't have my blood." She said.

"What's that mean?"

She sighed, "Me and them-"

"Them and I." I corrected.

"WE. Don't have the same father. I get my heroicness, if you can call it that, from him. If you think I got it from my mom, you're crazy. She falls apart when she can't get her car to start." She explained.

I frowned, "Who is your dad?"

She paused, "You're gonna find out sooner or later, might as well be now. My dad is Roy Harper."

My eyes widened, "Wow, how did I miss that?"

She sighed, "You already knew didn't you?"

I shrugged, "Robin's passwords are pretty guessable."

"Oh, I would love to here this." She said, leaning closer.

"It contains Red Robin's civilian name and foul language." I said, smirking.

"Really?" She asked.

"No, it's his name, with his last name in all caps." I said, shrugging. "He takes his name seriously."

"I should know, I worked with him for awhile." Speedy said.

"Oh yeah, you used to be in the teen titans. What was that like?" I asked, watching Kenya try and tag the red headed girl, who turned out to be a speedster.

"Weird. Kid Flash and Super Boy were always hanging together, Raven was always preaching to me about my temper and feelings, and every one was in their own tight little group, so I guess me and Robin bonded because we were both new." She said. "Sure we never really talked, but we had a kind of, unspoken agreement to not hate and stand up for each other. We never hung out, I hung out with Gar."

"Didn't your dad hang out with Gar when he was in the teen titans?" I asked.

"Yeah, ironic, huh?" She said, smirking. "Gar still sends me old year book photo's with him and my dad."

"Does he know?" I asked.

"Na, I've been careful about keeping it all hush, hush. Dad hasn't told anyone and I intend to keep it that way." She picked up her soda, Vanilla Coke, and chugged it like a pro. I raised an eyebrow, not to self, never go drinking with Kyler… not that I drink… yeah, don't tell my mom.

"So why tell me?" I asked, watching the speedster run away from Kenya, who was it, easily, then around her in circles, teasing her and taunting her in a way she might think was friendly and just messing around, but Kenya was raised to believe differently. "I mean, I know I already knew, but you didn't know that I knew."

"You asked." She said, shrugging. "And we're friends, so why not?"

Kenya looked back and forth, watching the speedster as she ran, and suddenly struck out, tagging the speedster and tripping her, making her fall flat in her face.

"YOU'RE IT!" Kenya yelled, kicking dirt into her face while she was down.

The little girl sat up, staring hurtfully at Kenya as little tears gathered into her eyes. "You're mean." She whispered to Kenya.

Kenya grabbed a fistful of the girls costume, tugging her so they were staring eye to eye, "No, you were being mean, and I let you know how it feel! Now you better leave me and my friends alone right now! Or I'll tell my big sister, and she'll show you what scary is you stupid meta human!"

Kyler gave me a look as the speedster ran off yelling for some one named Wally, "Yeah Justin, it'll be a long time before she's on the streets making criminals pee their pants with a glare and a well timed death threat."

"All I have to say is: Dear Lord I'm proud." I said, smiling at Kenya's antics.

Kyler groaned, "Todd, you're impossible. She just made a little girl cry."

"Yeah, a ten year old! Kenya's only five and she made a ten year old cry!" I said, smiling.

IRIS'S POINT OF VEIW:

"And then she kicked dirt in my face and said I had better leave her alone or she would tell her big sister and that her big sister would show me what scary is, and then she called me a stupid meta!" I said, clutching onto my Daddy and crying slightly.

"Who was it?" He asked, rubbing my back gently.

"Th-the new girl in the pink outfit." I sobbed.

"Oh." Jason Todd's adopted daughter. "Listen honey, all the bats are like that. She wasn't trying to be mean, that's how they make new friends."

I sniffed looking up at him, "Really?"

"Oh yeah, Batman did that to me all the time. Telling me that I needed more focus, calling me an idiot, constantly saying if I wasn't a meta human that I'd just be another idiotic nerd, reminding me I wasn't human, telling me if I didn't take it seriously I needed to just quit and get on with my life, he's such a kidder."

Mommy glared at Daddy, "Wally, you're in denial."

Daddy never stopped smiling, "It keeps me from killing him Linda."

JASON'S POINT OF VEIW:

I sighed, sitting down at one of the picnic tables and watching as Justin and Kyler started chatting it up, and Kenya started playing with her friends. Kim was off talking to Donna Troy, after Bat's had talked me and Kim into joining the Justice League Kim had made a lot of friends, while I pretty much repelled people. In my mind, that was perfectly fine.

"Jason." Said Roy, sitting next to me, "I didn't now you were coming."

"I'm in the JLA now, and Kim said I have to come." I said, turning towards him, "What about you?"

He shrugged, "Kyler invited me, said she didn't wanna end up watching Austin and Olivia alone again while Ollie hit on his old girlfriend. It was understandable, but if I had known Justin and Kenya were coming, I would have said no."

"Can't stand my kids?" I asked, half joking.

"They're the spawn of Satan." He said, smirking, then dropped it. "I don't mind 'em, if it wasn't for Justin, Kyler would have no social life."

"Right back at ya. Tim was pretty much camping out on her back about getting a friend. He doesn't like Kyler much, but he can't really complain, 'cause she's got a friend."

"Why doesn't he like Kyler?" He asked.

"He wanted her to be friends with Super Boy's brat, Conan, right? Probably 'cause Conan is a little angelic Switzerland in teenage girl form, while Justin is me in teenage girl form, which is pretty much yin and yang."

He shrugged, offering me a beer, "Eh, true."

I took it, wondering how he got beer here, and opened it, taking a huge gulp. "Alfred doesn't let me keep these at the manor."

He raised an eyebrow, "When is the last time you have had a descent beer night Todd?"

"About five weeks ago." I groaned, taking another swig, "I can't have beer at the mansion, I can't drink on patrol, Kim likes having two nights a week to ourselves, and I try to get as much quality time with Justin and Kenya as I can. Then there's a much needed full night of sleep I get once a week. Doesn't leave much time."

He whistled, long and slow, "Man, that would kill me. I can honestly say I never wanna get married."

I raised an eyebrow, "You see a ring on my finger Harper?"

He shrugged, "You two sure act like you're married."

"We aren't." I said, ending it.

He paused, watching the little red headed girl run off. "Maybe your kids are the spawn of Satan, Todd."

"Nope, they're the spawn of me."

"I have no idea which is worse." He said, laughing.

I snorted, "What does that make your kid, the spawn of Satan's favorite demon?"

He paused, "My kid?"

"Don't bother Harper, Justin told me everything, which she learned it from Damian's not so well-guarded files." I dismissed.

He shrugged, "Guess it isn't so much of a secret anymore."

"Not really." I said, as Clark, Conner, and Conan flew in, Conan running off with Justin and Kyler.

"I didn't think Conan and my kid were that close." Roy commented.

"They aren't, Conan is friends with that other kid, Snow, she just doesn't wanna hang out all day with her Dad and Grandpa." I said, smirking.

He chuckled, "I don't blame her, I would be embarrassed standing next to him in that ridiculous costume."

"Blue and red spandex has got to suck." I agreed.

Clark looked over at us, glaring.

"Ooh, he heard us." Roy said, laughing.

"Who cares, he's an old man now." I laughed.

"Is he that old?" Roy asked.

"He has a granddaughter." I pointed out.

"True! But what does that make Batman? He has two granddaughters." Roy asked.

"An old fart." I laughed, chugging down the beer.

"I heard that." Bruce ground out, walking past our table and shooting us one of the worst glares I've ever seen him give me.

Me and Roy stiffened, looking at each other, and busted out in laughter. "Dear Lord!" Roy choked out, "He's gonna kill us!"

"We're gonna get killed by and old fart." I laughed.

"I'll make sure they write that on our tomb stones." He chuckled.


	23. Picnic? NO! Part Three

CONAN'S POINT OF VEIW:

"Shame Snow couldn't come." I commented.

"Call her and invite her then." Justin snapped.

I glared at her, "Ok, did I step on your little sister, or did you stub your toe this morning?"

Justin shrugged, "I hate it here, I wanna go home, and I WANNA BLOW THE WHOLE PARK UP!"

Wonder Woman walked by, shaking her head, "Save the anger for the contests girls, and be nicer to your fellow sisters."

Me and Justin looked at each other. "Me and her?" I asked.

"Sisters?" Justin asked.

We both glared at each other, and then back to Wonder Woman, "The day Hell freezes over." We chorused.

"That is no way to enjoy a nice day at the park. Walk around, have fun and enjoy your youth." She said, clearly trying to be helpful and to get Justin to enjoy the day.

Justin smirked, "Yeah, until we get old and wrinkly like you, right?"

Me and Kyler's eyes widened, stepping away from Justin.

Wonder Woman grabbed Justin by the back of her jacket collar, and threw her over to the picnic area, where a tree broke her fall. She turned back to us, smiling pleasantly like nothing had happened. "So you see girls, enjoying a beautiful day and not saying something completely untrue and disrespectful to you superiors is a very important thing to remember."

"Yes Ma'am." We chorused.

"As you were." She said, walking away.

We bolted over to the picnic area, finding Justin's Dad and Roy Harper trying to get Justin detangled from a tree's branches. "And that Justin is why you never insult an Amazon. Especially Wonder Woman. _Ever_." Her dad said.

"Yes Dad." Justin said as he helped her down.

Mr. Harper shook his head, "Don't get me wrong Jason, I know your kid's got skill, but she's kind of stupid."

Mr. Todd glared at him, "She's an impulsive teenager, it's common. Besides, she could beat _your _kid hands down."

Justin glared at Mr. Harper, "And I'm not as dumb as you look."

"Yeah, she's a Todd, but Kyler could take her." He snorted, rolling his eyes.

Justin ad Kyler shared an 'oh crap' look.

Superman started calling all of the kids together for the games, and we all headed over.

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

Mom came over to me and Dad, "Justin, you gonna get in on the games?"

"No." I said.

"Why not?" She asked, "They give out prizes for the winner, ribbons for each individual winner, and the one who wins the most gets this years trophy."

I shrugged, about to say that I still didn't want to, when Dad said, "You bet your going to play!"

"Why?" I asked.

"Every teenage hero is playing, and you're going to participate!" He snapped.

Mom glared at him, "Does this have anything to do with the fact some of the people competing are either people you hate, or the kids and relatives of people you hate?"

"Of course it does." Dad said, then turned to me, putting one hand on my shoulder and turning me to see the playing area, pointing as he explained each part of it. "Now listen, you and Speedy are the only humans, all those other kids are meta humans. The first game is a three part obstacle course, the first part a foot race, the metas have you beat there hands down. Second part is a small obstacle course, tires, rope climbing, huge jungle gym, and a seventy foot sprint area where the terrain covered in non-hazardous material, if you touch it, you can't get loose unless you have super strength, like Conan, or like Mrs. Martian over there, you can phase through it. You have neither, so don't touch it. Then, it's an open area where every one uses their powers and weapons, and it's an all out war in there. Let the metas lead for the first two, then you beat every one of them in the fight, got it?"

"OK Dad." I said.

"Good, now go make Daddy proud." He said, standing up.

I nodded, running over to the starting line, I was gonna win, no doubt.

KYLER'S POINT OF VEIW:

"OK Kyler, remember, the meta humans have you beat when it come to foot races, so the only kid here you can beat is Justin. Let her lead for awhile, and then at the last moment, shoot her. Focus on that. In the fight area, that's where you focus on attacking the meta humans, just make sure you get Todd out." He said.

"Dad, I'm not sure if I like where your train of thought is heading." I stated.

"Just go and win the game." He grumbled.

I sighed, "OK Dad."

I lined up, with no intention of winning.

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

Superman shouted "READY, SET… GO!"

I took off, the meta humans had already passed and were halfway to the obstacle course by the time I took two steps. I ran towards the obstacle course, Kyler right on my heels. I jumped over the first obstacle, a five foot brick wall. How the heck did they get that in a park? I jumped over a small pit, landing in a roll and jumping up, not missing a beat and then throwing myself onto the jungle gym, hand over hand; foot over foot, as fast as I could.

Kyler suddenly struck out with her hand, grabbing my ankle and yanking me back, making my stomach fall onto on of the metal bars. It knocked the wind out of me, and I gasped as she ran ahead. Crap!

I scurried faster, standing up on the bars and running across them, leaving Kyler in the dust. I nearly slipped, but I jumped, landing fine and heading towards the sprint field covered in the goo, I could see several other people stuck in it, like Bart. Idiot.

Instead of running across it, I shot out a Batarang, it caught on a tree and I swung over all of it, Kyler did the same, with an arrow. I got there first, and cut her line. She fell in the goo, but she didn't really seem that upset about it.

I ducked under a tree as some really unfortunate guy got thrown right at me, but hit the tree instead. "Ouch." I commented. He groaned. I shook my head sadly, "Better luck next time loser."

I loaded a few chloroform bullets into my gun, and shot them in random places, the exploded, unleashing the gas immediately and people breathed it in. Losers.

I took out a small gas mask from inside my jacket, and put it on, firing more and running out into the area, shooting them at direct people. Some were actually able to throw an attack before they passed out, but I was quick to dodge. One charged me, trying to punch me. Conan. I ducked under her punches, tapping her in random places with the gun. It wouldn't hurt her, just discombobulate her slightly. She started to focus on fending off my useless attacks instead of breaking me in two.

I saw an opening, and shot a bullet right into her mouth. "Even you can't fight off chloroform Conan. Sorry." I said as she sank to the ground, her eye lids drooping, and eventually closing.

There were only ten kids at the start line, subtract me and Kyler, that leaves eight. I did a quick head count, yep, all present and accounted for.

Superman shook his head as he handed me the ribbon, "I will never understand how you Bat's do it. Every year too."

I shrugged, "It's in the genes."

"I can believe that." He said, smiling as I walked of towards Dad.

He slapped me on the back, "Great job, Next game is the three legged race, you up for it?"

"Yeah!" I said.

Tim interrupted me, "She can't compete, if you have more than one kid, you have to alternate each game."

Dad shrugged, looking at Kenya, "You ready for the three legged race?"

Kenya looked down at her feet, and then smiled up at Daddy. "Just hold still." She said, taking out a knife and launching herself at Dad's leg.

Thank God Dad knows how to dodge a knife. Mom grabbed Kenya, holding her in place while Tim explained what a three legged race was.

"Oh." She said, putting her knife away, "Sorry Daddy."

Dad just stared at her, his eye twitching every now and then.


	24. Pyrokinetik?

KENYA'S POINT OF VEIW:

Daddy tied our legs together, and ruffled my hair, "Don't worry Kenya, we'll get that ribbon."

I raised an eyebrow, "I thought Mommy said that the games were all about having fun and making friends. She said winning doesn't matter."

Daddy snorted, "To her it doesn't matter. To me it does, so let's just focus on beating Roy and Olivia, OK?"

Kenya looked over where Roy was probably giving the same talk to Olivia, then back at me, smiling, "OK Daddy."

OLIVIA'S POINT OF VEIW:

"But I don't wanna beat Kenya, I just wanna I just wanna play tag with her again. She got away from Austin by doing a cartwheel!" I said, smiling.

Roy shook his head, "That's great Olivia, tell you what, if you help me win, I'll teach you to do a cartwheel."

"Really?" I asked, looking at Kenya.

"Yeah, now run the race already." He said, tightening the rope around our legs.

"OK!" I said.

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

"Great." I said, sitting next to Kyler on the ground as we watched our Dad's talk to our little sisters. "What do you make of this? Cause I know what I'm making of it."

"They're comparing and competing with their kids." She said, disgusted. "Olivia and Austin aren't even his kids!"

I shrugged, "Kenya isn't my Dad's real kid."

"He legally adopted her, that's more than mine did. He's never even hung out with Olivia and Austin before. Unless you count helping me save them from the black market in Star City." She said.

"When they got kidnapped?' I asked.

"Yeah, he helped out a little." She said, shrugging.

"What race is after this?" I asked, as the race started and they took off.

"It's not a race, it's the egg toss." She said.

"Oh, brilliant." I said sarcastically.

"And Austin's going to have to do that." She said, shaking her head.

"What's wrong about that?" I asked.

"He's got the best arm on his little league base ball team." She said, "He can catch a baseball without it even making a noise."

"Impressive." I said.

"Once, he jumped five feet into the air to catch a ball, and threw it as he started to fall." She said, bragging about him. I didn't blame her, I bragged about Kenya too.

"Sounds cool." I said, as Dad threw a small ball ahead of him, where the meta humans were. The ball explodes, wrapping them up in foam. They tried to free themselves, but the foam hardened. I smirked, I had used that one plenty of times.

Then, Dad and Roy were neck and neck, trying to get head of each other while the meta humans tried to free themselves. Good luck with that.

Roy shoved Dad, and he shoved back. Pretty soon they were trying to kill each other, wrestling around and trying to choke each other out, while Miss. Martian had phased through the foam and ran ahead of them with Martian Manhunter.

"You know, if your Dad wasn't so bent on beating mine, he might have actually won." Kyler said as most of the meta humans got loose and ran past our Dad's.

"Yeah." I agreed. "If he was really trying, he could beat your dad easily. Being a trained assassin and the whole Lazarus pit thing, easy win."

Kyler nodded. "No doubt."

We didn't know it at the time, but Kyler had just killed Roy a little.

KIMBERLEY'S POINT OF VEIW:

I shook my head at Jason; I swear, he was like a teenager! Arguing over who's kid was better? Using the family to compete? He was dead when we got home.

I heard a chuckle behind me, and turned to see Super girl, smiling at Jason and Roy's antics. "Men, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

"Amen." I grumbled as she stood beside me.

"You're Blue Jay, Justin's Mom, right?" She asked.

"Dear Lord, what did she do this time?" I asked, fearing the worst. This was the normal for Justin, super hero's telling on her. Black Canary squealed on her last week for painting graffiti in the Watch Tower. Her Dad had taken her there for a little 'Daddy daughter bonding time' and got called away on a mission. Leaving Justin unsupervised, in an orbiting satellite. Real smart Jason, real smart. At least she didn't dye Superman's costume pink… again.

"Nothing, I might not like your kid, but she hasn't done anything that I know of." She said, shrugging.

I frowned slightly, "Why don't you like my daughter?"

Super girl's eye widened, "Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that, she's a great hero, she's just a bit extreme for me, if you get what I mean."

"You've met her?" I asked, curious.

"Yeah, once. We teamed up for three hours. Didn't go so well. And, my cousin Conner doesn't like her, so it's a bit of a stereotype Justin's developed in our family." She said, shrugging.

I shrugged, still a bit upset about it. "Whatever."

She was silent for a moment, "So, you live with Justin, Jason, and Damian twenty-four-seven?"

"Yeah."

"How are you not insane?" She asked, jokingly.

I shrugged, "High tolerance, patience, and the ability to look some one in the eye and know if they're guilty."

She smiled, "I just listen to their heart rate to find out." I chuckled at that.

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I sighed, walking into DR, and seeing Snow standing behind the island in the kitchen. I groaned, falling down on the floor in front of her, "Snow, do we have any ice cream?"

"I'm pretty sure Conan and I ate it all last night. Are you hurt?" She asked.

"The picnic sucked!" I snapped.

"You didn't win the games?" She asked.

"We won the trophy," I said, "But unfortunately…"

Kyler walked in, not nearly as worn out as me, and grabbed a peach off the island. "Her dad and mine hate each other now."

Snow nodded, "I have learned not to be surprised at these things by now."

I smirked, "That's great, in a few weeks, you'll be certifiably insane, like all of us!"

Kyler shook her head, "Ignore her Snow. She's just kidding. Besides, I'm not insane, and neither is Conan. Hardly any heroes I know except her family are. You're probably the most sane one here."

"Hey!" Conan protested.

I shrugged, "You're part of the Super family, in no time you'll be thinking Lex Luthor is behind everything, just like you crazy Grandfather."

Conan glared at me, "Todd, if I had heat vision…"

"You would have used it to cook the burgers and hot dogs like Superman?" I asked.

Kyler smirked, "That was cool."

I nodded, "Yeah, but probably a health violation." Bruce wouldn't eat any. He drove to the nearest McDonalds and grabbed a Big Mac.

Snow cleared her throat, "While you three were out having a picnic, I was patrolling around Gotham. I heard an odd sound, like fighting, so I investigated it."

"Cool." I dismissed, getting up and grabbing a soda from the fridge and chugging it down.

"A boy was fighting about five men, and he beat them but he was very worn out, so I brought him here." She said.

It was a good thing I was next to the sink, otherwise I'd have to clean soda off the floor. I regained my composure, "Why!"

"He looked like he needed help. I thought we should help him." she said, shrugging.

"Please tell me you at least blind folded him so he couldn't remember how to get there." I begged.

"No."

"HOLY-"

"I knocked him out and then brought him here. He's on the couch." She said.

I sighed, and pulled my helmet on. "This is going to be a long day."

"One more thing." Snow said, "He was fighting by using a super power. I think he's a meta human."

"What power?" Conan asked.

"He made fire." she said.

"Oh, pyrokinetik?" I asked, "Been a long time since I've seen on of those."

I walked out of the kitchen, and into the living room, where a boy was sprawled out on the couch. He had black, shaggy, chin link hair. He was only a few inches taller than me, tan skin, well toned figure, and looked relatively clean.; meaning no drugs or alcohol were detectible.

He was wearing old, dirty jeans that had faded and ripped over time, and a tee shirt that had once been white, but was now a dingy grey. It was to small for him, it hugged his figure to tightly and rode a little to far up on his hips. That was how I could see his figure. _I'm not drooling over his pathetic frame, if that's what you're thinking. I was trained to pick out features like this. I could probably lift more than him. Actually, I know I could._

He had no shoes, or socks. Judging by those calluses on his feet, had hadn't had any for while. Scrolls laid on the coffee table next to him, Snow must have brought them in, trying to heal him. Apparently, she had. I could see the faint pink lines where nasty knife wounds had been. He had about five of them, three on his left, and two on his right. He had kept fighting, with those wounds? That was grit, any other street rat would have run after getting one. Actually, after seeing the other guy draw a knife they would have run.

He must have been about my age, his face still showed child-like roundness, but he was beginning to get a firm chin and cheek bones, the signs of gaining maturity. He was obviously malnourished, way to thin. I could see each rib, and if I flipped him over, I would see his spine too.

I picked up his hand, looking it over. Small cuts and scars left over from minor burns. Couldn't be his powers, pyrokinetiks were almost always fireproof. He hot wired cars. Street kid to the core, huh? Not surprised, this was Gotham after all.

I looked at his face, what had this kid gone through? Where were the parents who should have sheltered him from this? I sighed, poor kid.

His eyes shifted, and I dropped his hand. His eyes flew open, and he sat up straight, jumping back when he saw he was eye to eye with my stomach.

He glared at me, eyes widening when he saw my helmet. Green eyes. If I hadn't been trained by Jason Todd of all people, I probably would have stepped back. Why? Remember that night mare I had this morning? Yeah, that's why.

"Black Hood." I said, nodding at him unceremoniously. "And you are?"

His eyes hardened, glaring at me. Please, like he could intimidate me. "None of your business." he said.

"Oh, tough guy." I snorted, "But really, it kind of is. You see, you're not in the Gotham streets anymore; you're in the DR secret headquarters. Welcome." I put heavy sarcasm on the last word, assuring him if it were up to me, he wouldn't be here. I would have left him in the alley. Snow had a bleeding heart, he should thank her for that.

He stood up, straightening his back so that he could look down on me, "I didn't ask to be here."

"Unfortunately for you, the necromancer from a different century saw you fighting." I said.

"He nearly killed one of them." Snow said, appearing out of no where. She was getting good at that. "If I hadn't had a scroll of healing on me, he would have died. I was concerned about leaving him on the streets, afraid he would have killed more."

My glare shifted to the boy. His eyes were defiant, "I wouldn't kill anybody!"

His tone was defensive, but I could see through it. Something dark and depressed hiding behind it. He had killed before, at least once; and he was determined not to do it again. I could respect that.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not interested in your personal defiance against your past actions or whatever 'I walk alone' façade you're trying to put up." I said, raising my chin in authority, something I had picked up from Dad over the years. "All I'm hearing is you nearly killed a man."

"You don't know my you little-" He stared to shout, but I shoved the point of my gun in his face.

"I wouldn't finish that if I was you." I said slowly, threateningly. "I know your type, street kid gone meta human. You think you have it all because you've got some non-human gifts. You think you're superior. You aren't. I am strong. You are weak. I have a gun. You have a lighter on steroids. I am a trained assassin. You. Are. Nothing." I tapped the end of his nose with the gun as I said the last three words, emphasizing them. "Name." I commanded.

To my surprise, he grabbed the point of my gun, pushing it to the side, and his fist burst into flames.

I yanked my hand away, my fingers had small licks of fire on them, which I hastily put out.

I looked up at him, as my gun melted in his hand, and the remains of it fell onto the couch, hissing and simmering. There goes the couch. I glared at him as he smirked. "That was my favorite gun." I growled out.

I boot kicked his face, sending him tumbling over the couch. "You're paying for it!" I shouted.

I turned to Snow and the others who had come in, "Every one out, Kyler put the living room, rec. room, and the front hall on lock down, alpha 8." I commanded.

Kyler raised an eyebrow as she turned to leave with the others, "What are you going to do?"

I turned back to the boy, who was getting up, rubbing his face. "Putting Hot Shot in his place."

She shook her head, sighing, "Just don't get blood on the carpet, please. We just got it laid down."

"No promises." I said, ducking as the boy tried to punch me. He was fast, I would give him that. I kicked his feet out from under him. But his foot work was sloppy and his style was to direct. He made it obvious what he was going to do.

He fell backwards, the back of his head slamming against the hard, wooden coffee table. He grunted, starting to sit up, but I jumped on him, flipping him around and pinning both arms behind his back with one hand, while I slammed his forehead into the coffee again with the other.

"Enough!" I shouted as he tried to get loose. "I win, you lose, get over it!"

He thrust all his weight forward, rolling with me over the coffee table. He grabbed my shoulders, pinning my down as he sat on my back. "There's no way I'm going to lose, especially to a girl!"

My eyes widened in pure rage.

KYLER'S POINT OF VEIW:

I sighed, shacking my head as I watched the security footage of the fight. I had done what Justin asked, the three rooms were on lock down so the boy wouldn't be able to run from her. After that was done, I figured, 'why not watch Justin kick his sorry bum?' I had nothing better to do. Conan and Snow had already left, said they were going over to the Kent farm for the weekend, apparently they were best friends now, and wanted to have a sleep over.

"Boy, I'm sorry, but you just sealed your own fate." I said sadly.

Suddenly, alarms blared around the computer, and I hastily typed on the keyboard, bringing up several screens, and then frowning at the last one. "Oh man, Justin's not going to like this."

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I flipped him off of me, and then started punching and kick him anywhere I could hit, leaving good amount of bruised skin.

Suddenly, I heard alarms blaring, and Kyler rushed into the room, looking scared. I got off of the boy, "What is it Kyler?"

"It's… Gabriel."


	25. Grave Digger When You Dig My Grave

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I froze, "What?"

"It's Gabriel, and the others too. They're up to something." She said.

I turned away from the boy, who's name I still didn't know, and glared at her, "What are they up to?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. They look like they're grave robbing, but I never took them for the voodoo grave robbing type."

I growled, shoving past her, "Who cares! They're robbing a grave, and now I can put them in jail!"

The boy spoke up, "Who's robbing a grave?"

Kyler walked after me, "Big rank super villain."

"He's not a super villain." I snapped, hovering over the keyboard as they walked up behind me, "Super villains have style, and an over all purpose. He does not."

"OK." The boy said uncertainly.

"What's your name anyways?" Kyler asked.

"Raphael." He said.

I could stop the short cackle that left my lips. He glared at me, and I shrugged, "Sorry Raphael, in this line of work, we tend to laugh a lot, helps get out the stress, ya know?"

"Shut up." He growled.

I nodded at Kyler, "Let's go. They're almost done."

She looked uncertainly at me, "Uh, Black Hood, last time we fought them, yeah, there was only two, and you got mauled."

"A broken arm doesn't count as mauled!" I snapped.

"Yeah, but this time they have Michael, and it's just us two." She said.

"Then call Super Kid and Snow." I said.

"They're on vacation time at the Kent's farm, and they left their communicators, _and _I don't know the Kent's telephone number." She shot down.

I paused, "The Kent's have a telephone?"

She groaned, "We need to talk."

Raphael spoke up, "I can help with whatever's going on."

"No." I snapped.

"Let's hear him out." Kyler prompted.

I snorted, "He's a street kid with a bad attitude that can't even get out of a head lock. What could he possibly do?"

"Meta human." He said, glaring at me.

I glared back, "Don't care. Now days, that doesn't even mean anything."

"Black Hood," Kyler interrupted, "If just me and you go, you'll get another broken arm. At least he gives us one more body against them. Can we go before they get away from the grave yard?"

I groaned, "Fine, but he's not going wearing that!"

"What's wrong with my clothes?" He asked.

"You have no shoes, and last time I checked, Super Hero's dressed cooler than rags sewn together." I said.

Kyler glared at me, "I'll get him something, now try to be nice?"

"No." I said, turning away and walking to the garage to get my motorcycle ready.

I sighed, running a hand over the paint job. Black, of course. I had thought about a flame job, but it was so overused. So, I had spray painted a red bat symbol onto each side. Damian had a field day with that one. When I say that, I mean he gave me a real ear full about it. Apparently he considered me 'an honorary member of the Bat-family'. I could shoot that little jerk.

Kyler walked in, Raphael behind her, "OK, be honest, do I look hot, or do I look hot?"

He was wearing the same black pants, but a black muscle shirt with a leather jacket and a black domino mask, and old sneakers that had no doubt been Kyler's. "I'll admit it. You look like a poser."

I mounted my bike, grabbing the clutch while Kyler tried to nurse Raphael's pride.

"So, where do I ride?" He asked.

"Run." I commanded.

"No way!" He protested.

"You can ride on the back of my bike." Kyler offered, pointing to the red motorcycle.

"Why can't I drive?" He asked.

"It's my bike." She answered, mounting it.

"I could probably drive it better than you." He grumbled, getting behind her on the bike.

I shook my head as Kyler elbowed him hard in the diaphragm. She might be tolerant, but she wasn't _that _tolerant.

We took off, almost running into the garage door on our way out.

AT THE GRAVE YARD:

Michael set the shovel down, "How many graves are we gonna have to dig up to find it?"

"As many as it takes." Mary said, going to the next one, and put a hand over it, trying to read the old writing.

"At least we aren't digging in the catacombs, right?" Gabriel offered, "I mean, it reeks down there."

"Is it so much to ask that the dead be placed in coffins?" Michael asked to no one in particular.

"Apparently." Gabriel said shortly.

"Come on Michael, you know how it goes, you serve your years in the field, you serve your years in the church, then you die and get tossed in with the other dead bodies in the catacombs." Mary illustrated.

"I'd rather be cremated." Michael dismissed.

"Well then." Raphael intervened, they all jerked towards him, stunned he had appeared without a sound. Actually, he had been quite loud, it was the sound of the shovels that had drowned out his steps. "It's your lucky day."

He lit both hands on fire, making the flames grow noticeably. The light cast eerie shadows on him and us, standing to his left.

"What the-" Mary started.

I jumped down from the dead tree we had been perching in, aiming a cork screw kick right at Gabriel.

He did several back flips, evading me. "Resorting to sneak attacks Black Hood? You're getting desperate."

"No, just serious." I replied, running up and trying to punch him, he easily evaded me.

"Aw, poor Hoodie has to get serious to take on a boy with a Bible." He taunted.

"Laugh while you can Bible Boy," I grunted out, throwing a round house kick that easily nailed him in the face. "I'm just getting started."

Kyler and Mary started fighting again, and of course she used that war hammer that resembled a cross again. Her fighting style was all brute force. Not that I didn't admire a girl with anger management issues, but she needed to be stealthy. That was why she hardly stood a chance against Kyler ad her smooth, quick attacks.

I fought half heartedly with Gabriel, having to keep one eye on Raphael. Michael was a good fighter, his attacks were fast and to the point, but a bit to obvious. To my surprise, Raphael actually put up a good defense against him. He punched at Michael with flaming fists, increasing any damage he got. His stance was sloppy, and his attacks obvious, but he was fast. He had good reflexes and instincts. I saw potential.

Gabriel punched my face; I grunted and grabbed his fist, trying to flip him, but he pulled it away.

"You're distracted." He noted, "By the new member of your team I'm guessing?"

"He's not part of my team." I growled out.

"Oh, your boyfriend?" He taunted.

"No!" I snapped, "He's a street rat Snow took pity on."

"Oh, the necromancer? So since you don't have a boyfriend, you and Kyler have come to terms with your feelings for each other?" He asked, smirking.

An arrow whizzed past his head. I smirked, "I'm straight, unlike you and Michael."

He snorted, punching at me as I flipped over his fist. "I'm straight too, and since it's not Kyler, I'm guessing you and Super Kid are together? What a nice combo, Bat with Super. Just like the original two."

I kicked his feet out form under him, and he fell. I jumped on top of him. "You know Michael is only with you because you're so pitiful and desperate, he feels bad for you."

He flipped me off of him, and came at me with a knife. I drew mine, and they met in the middle. We each pushed against each other, trying to get the upper hand.

"Enough Hoodie, you know you're just jealous." He smirked.

"Of what? Your weak and scrawny figure?" I snapped.

"No, the fact fire boy over there is paying more attention to Michael than you." He sassed. I yanked my knife away and ducked to the side. As his momentum carried him foreword, I stuck my foot out. He rolled foreword, crashing into a head stone.

"What are you even doing here? Grave robbing so you can make your own Frankenstein? I think Mary is a nice substitute." I smirked.

"For your information, we happen to be looking for something." He snapped.

"What's that?' I asked as he stood up, rubbing his face. Or the sorry excuse he had for a face.

"An artifact, owned by the very first warrior of the church." He said, standing up, and jumping at me, placing his knife at my throat, I placed mine at his.

"Why would you need it?" I asked.

"Why should I tell you?" He inquired.

"Maybe I'll leave you alone so you can get it." I offered.

He paused. "It's an old charm, history tells us he used it to ward off Satan's demons, even used it against the devil himself."

"Did it work?" I asked out of interest.

"Sort of, he survived to tell the tale, but he died shortly after." He said, shrugging, "Considering what happened in Star City a few months ago, Father Simaun thinks it would be best to have it, just incase."

I frowned, "In case what?" I asked, "What are you afraid of? What are you trying to prevent?"

He stared at me for a second. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because, protecting Gotham, no, protecting the world, it's my job. I inherited this job from my father, and I'm intending to do it to the best of my ability. Now," I took out a gun, and aimed it right at his head, "If that means I have to blow your brains out, then I have no problem with that."

"You're willing to sin against not only God, but your family and your leaders rules, just to protect what you've been told to, no, what you've been born to protect?" He asked. I nodded. "And you don't care if that sin means your downfall?"

"I could really care less about my future, or my current well being." I said, in a tone that made it clear that all of my usual joking and sarcasm was nonexistent at the current moment. "My life wasn't about me the moment I put on the mask. I intend to live my life for Gotham, not myself."

"You've killed." He said, "You know that's wrong."

I shrugged, "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I've gone up against people that are so evil and twisted, death would be a blessing not only to the world, but to them. Can you really tell me every time I've killed some one who abused children, murdered innocents, or raped women was a sin?"

"No." he said slowly. "I can tell, you may have killed for revenge many times, but you've also killed for others, to keep them safe, even people you didn't know. In a way that might just even out your sin. You didn't do it for yourself, you did it for the right reason."

He pointed the hand that wasn't holding his knife up to the sky, "That might just put God on your side."

I paused, and pulled my knife away. "Ok, get three more shovels, you've got yourself some extra workers."

It took a lot of explaining to Kyler and Raphael, and an all nighter to find that stupid blessed badge. That's what it was, a little golden badge. It was a small circle, about the size of my palm, with a cross engraved in it.

"That's it?" Raphael asked, ticked off. "That's what we've been looking for?"

"Apparently." Michael shrugged.

"How do you turn it on?" Kyler asked.

"What does it look like? A flash light?" Mary asked, "It doesn't turn on or off. It's always on. I'm surprised it hadn't burned a cross into your hand yet Black Hood."

I glared at her, handing it to Gabriel, "Here's your Sheriff badge. Is that everything?"

"Yeah." He said, putting it in his pocket.

Kyler spoke up, "Hey, I've always wanted to ask this after watching the first Indian Jones movie, where is the Ark of the Lost Covenant?"

Gabriel smirked, "In the catacombs under our church."

"Really?" Asked Raphael.

"Yeah." Michael spoke up, "But we're not allowed to go in there, it's really sacred."

"So how do you know it's in there?" I asked.

They paused, and then shrugged. I shook my head, "Whatever, I need a soda."

I was halfway to DR headquarters before I realized, Gabriel had never answered my question about what they were trying to prevent. His little speech had been him avoiding the question.

Dang that smooth talking Jesus Freak!


	26. I DON'T WANT A SIDEKICK KYLER!

"He's not staying here." I said for the fifth time.

"Why not?" Kyler asked.

"Because he'll be a burden and a liability." I stressed.

"Why's that?" Super Kid asked.

"He may be a living flame thrower, but he has no real training, and I don't wanna look over my shoulder every three minutes to make sure he's still alive and well." I said, putting the wrench down and picking up another piece of my dismantled motorcycle engine.

"He's not a child, even if he can't fight, he can be taught." Snow added in.

"I'm not teaching him how to fight, Super Kid, you hardly can fight without your powers, and Snow, same goes for you. Kyler is to busy so he's not staying." I said.

"He needs help." Snow said. "He helped you fight against Michael and he did well from what you and Kyler said. Give him time, and he'll do better. Not to mention, we've been calling ourselves by our real names since you three got back, and he'll remember your names. You really want to let him go with the information he knows now?"

I froze. _If Dad was here, I would be in so much trouble._ I stood up, grabbing my phone, "Just let me call Mrs. Martian, she can erase whatever he knows now."

Kyler took the phone form me, "Justin, why can't he stay. There has to be more to why you don't want him to than that."

I glared at her, she was right though, there was. It was his eyes, those stupid green eyes, they creeped me out and… almost scared me. Just thinking about them made me want to shiver. Yeah, the night mare scared me that much. And the fact that he stood up to me and talked back to me. It infuriated me to no end. Made me wanna slice his arms up with my Kris knife. No one questioned me, no one disobeyed. Super Kid may not like me, but she didn't disobey orders or talk back when I gave her one.

Raphael did. It took twenty minutes to get him to let us talk in private. Twenty minutes. It was a simple order that took less than twenty seconds to accomplish.

"Maybe I don't want my motorcycle stolen." I offered pathetically.

Kyler hit me upside the head, "Honestly Justin, grow a conscience! He needs help, and God Almighty, we're gonna give it to him!"

I turned to her glaring, "No we aren't, he's going right back out on the-"

"And on top of that, you're going to be his tutor!" She declared, crossing her arms at me.

"No way in-"

"He'll be your protégé and accompany you on every mission that's within his league, you'll teach him how to fight, and all that other stuff." She ordered.

"Kyler you're not the boss of-"

"Then, when you think he's ready, he's going to become your partner for a year, he'll accompany you on every mission you go on. Finally, after a year, he'll be officially an equal member of the team." She said with finality. "And I don't wanna hear another word about it, or so help me I'll call your Mother and tell her every word you've said in this meeting."

I froze at that. If Mom heard half of the words I had said… ugh. She was never one to judge some one on their back ground, and if she heard that I had offered his background as a car thief as a reason not to recruit him... I was dead.

I glared at her as hard as I could, "Fine." I growled out. "But the minute he proves to be a liability, a burden I have to deal with, you're taking over as his tutor."

She nodded, "When it's clear to _all _of us that he's a burden to you Todd, then I'll take over."

"Good." I stressed, turning back to the bike. I give him two weeks, and then he'll be out of my hair. I always thought my first side kick would be Kenya. I've been thinking about that a lot lately actually. I might have to talk to Dad about it soon.

The others all left, Kyler to go take care of her little siblings, Conan to get meet up with her dad, and Snow to go try and resurrect a dead cat. Her room creeped me out thoroughly. Yeah, I admitted it, her room creeps me out. It has dead animal skeletons all over the place! It would creep you out too! That's why Kenya isn't allowed to go in there, never ever.

I put all my stuff away, and sighed, thinking about Raphael. He was arrogant, reckless, and he had a bad attitude. The first thing he had said to Conan was criticizing her super hero name. He then criticized Kyler for not choosing an original name. Conan and Snow hated him, so why did they want him to stay? Conan probably because she was a super, and naturally had a golden heart. I have to go throw up now, excuse me. She might also want him to stay simply to infuriate me. Snow probably wanted him to stay because Conan was her friend., and she always sided with her. Stupid alien and necromancer.

I sighed, walking out of the garage and into the main hall, where our very few trophy's of past battles were. There was a test tube of venom we got after we fought Baine once, a poison dart from an assassin sent by Talia I had made short work of, and the trophy I won at the picnic. Surprisingly, I found Raphael staring at one of my cases. I walked up behind him silently as he stared at it. I peaked over his shoulder at it, and frowned. I hated this one. "Looking for something?" I asked.

He whirled around, surprised I had got up behind him without him hearing me, and then sighed, looking back at it. "Just saw it and got curious." He said, staring at the crowbar. "Why would you hang this up?"

I frowned, "It was the weapon that almost killed me."

He stiffened, "The Joker kidnapped me and beat me with it until I was a bloody smear on the warehouse floor."

"How'd you live?" He asked.

"I didn't, I died." I said, "For a few minutes, I was dead."

He was silent for a moment, "How'd you come back?"

"Well, unlike family tradition, it wasn't because I got dumped in a glorified swimming pool." I said.

"What?"

"Nothing. I was lucky. I got a second chance at life I suppose you could say. Decided to use it to my full extent." I said.

"So… what was dying like?" He asked hesitantly.

I shrugged, "Painful, damaging, a bit horrifying. But after a few seconds, it was kind of nice. Peaceful almost."

"Ever think about staying?" He asked.

"No, that would be giving up the fight that we call living. Not how I was raised, or how I prefer to do things." I said.

"Sounds hardcore." He said slowly.

I looked at him for a few minutes, then sighed. "Listen kid, you really shouldn't do this. You should put the mask down and just walk away from it all. I can get you a nice home with a good family. You could have a normal life. I could even get you help with your powers if you wanted. This is the last job I would recommend to anybody."

"I wanna do it." He said firmly.

I glared at him, "Raphael Tyler Strook, by popular agreement, your now my protégé. The minute we start training, we'll never stop. I'm going to work you, wear you down, and break you over and over again until your either stronger than me, which will never happen, or dead. About to die does not count. I will push you until you hate me with every fiber of your being and until you don't even know what the word 'limit' means. I completely mean it when I say, you'd be better of just walking away right now. Even after your done and your part of the team, you'll be in constant life threatening danger on missions. The chance of dying a horrible and painful death that would bring even Batman to his knees is far greater than a possibility. By all means, it _will _be the way you go out. It'll be the way that most of us go out. People like us don't get happily ever after's, we're all going to Hell in the end. Not only that, but no matter how many good deeds you do, the minute a nasty rumor breaks out, the whole world will turn against you and it will take forever for you to get it all sorted out. At the end of the day, your always on your own, no matter how many friends you have, you're the only thing keeping yourself alive. No matter how many times you save the world, it'll always end up falling back into jeopardy. Its an endless, tedious cycle and you can never really retire. The training and life scaring occurrences will always haunt you, no matter how much therapy you get. Every thug, hired gun, assassin, crime lord, and hit man will be after your head the minute you first stop a robbery. All in all, it's the worst choice you could make."

He took it all in, glaring at the crowbar. "Why did _he _try to kill you?"

"Because he could." I said. "He considers every one a toy, and his favorite thing to do with his toys is break them, in the worst way possible. He scared me for life, and if he or any other lunatic or sane villain or crime lord gets a hold of you, they'll do the same. Even if you think they won't, they'll _break _you in the end. They always will."

He took a deep breath, realizing hero life isn't all they make it out to be. "Is it worth it?"

"Yeah, I guess in some twisted way it is." I said, shrugging. "But only if you're strong enough."

He was silent for a long time. "Ok, I'm in; but there are some conditions."

"Whatever." I said, leading him away to the computer room.

"First off, no more calling me kid. You can call me Raphael, Tyler, or whatever my code name turns out to be. Second, _you _gave _me _the OK. So you recognize my skills, and don't diss them." he ordered. I didn't take kindly to that.

I typed in a code on the computer, and several screens popped up, "Sure sure, but from now on Hot Shot, you're in the big leagues, and all of your skills…"

He stared at all of the screens, each one portraying a picture of him caught from a street camera, school pictures, status reports on his DNA and powers, clips of him wandering around DR, even a few pictures of his parents, one ever bore a headline of their deaths. All in all, he was seeing every moment of his past life play out before him. Even videos from school security camera's showed him a few years ago, eating lunch and sitting in class.

"Mean nothing." I finished.


	27. Ah, Childhood Memories

I ducked under his flaming punch, grabbed his wrist, and kicked his knee, then flipped him while he was off balance over my shoulder and the lightly tapped his neck with my foot. "Dead again."

He growled, shoving my foot away and jumping up, trying to kick my stomach. I jumped over his foot, and kicked his face. He fell flat down, but then jumped up, and launched himself at my stomach, tackling me.

I flipped over, pinning him down and punching his nose harshly. He grunted, and tried to shove me off, but I twisted with his arms, staying firmly planted on his chest as I prepared to punch him again. He grabbed my fist, and gave it a harsh twist.

I cried out, and he punched me in the gut, and then head butted me as I leaned foreword. I grunted, grabbing my nose and wincing. He thrust all of his weight foreword, and rolled with me until he was on top, trying to grab for my throat.

I kicked him of easily, and then kicked his groin harshly. He toppled over, grabbing his wounded area and whimpering. He mumbled curses at me, calling me things I would normally shoot any other man's groin off for.

I shook my head, "Be faster and less obvious. Then maybe you'll be able to get a hit on me that actually does sufficient damage. Maybe."

He groaned, low and deep, and manages to choke out "O-one more roooouuuunnnnd?"

"No, we're done for the day." I said firmly.

"O-Okaaaayyy." He whimpers, struggling to stand up.

I toss him an ice pack, and then head for the showers.

AT THE MANSION:

I had gotten back to late for dinner, so I just sat on the couch watching football and drinking root beer in an old tee shirt and boxers. Dad came up behind me, "Rough day?"

"Possibly the worst day I've ever had at DR." I mumbled.

"What happened?" He asked, sitting beside me. He was dressed pretty much the same, just different colored boxers.

"You know that kid Raphael?" I asked.

"Yeah, you told me about him yesterday when you got home from that grave yard thing." He said, "What about him? Do I need to cut his hands off?"

"No, he got enough cuts and bruises today." I said, shrugging.

"So what's wrong?" He asked, taking a chug of a bud light that I have no idea where he got.

"I got assigned to teach him to fight and be a hero until he's ready to be part of the team." I growled, "I wasn't counting on having a side kick just yet."

Dad chuckled, "Neither was I kid, believe me, a side kick was the last thing I wanted; I'm used to it now though."

"I'm not your sidekick anymore." I corrected.

"Keep dreaming Justin, you're still my side kick until you either get better than me, which will never happen, or you die." He said, ruffling my hair, "And I'll never let that happen."

I sighed, I was fifteen, and I was still living in my fathers shadow. I still went on patrol with him every night I wasn't at DR, and he still taught me every chance he had. I had a lot more to learn, so I guess I couldn't complain. I still didn't like being referred to as a side kick. It was insulting, really insulting.

He took another chug of his beer, and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer to him. "Sorry I've been gone so much lately, me and your Mom, well, we've been having some trouble with some really hard core cults in down town Gotham, and then we like spending time with each other, meaning-"

I slapped my hands over my ears, "I know!"

He smirked. "All I was gonna say was that it takes up a considerable amount of time."

"Sure you were." I growled.

"Lighten up," He said, frowning, "I understand you've had a tough day, but you aren't in costume, just relax already."

I sighed, staring at my knees. "Sorry." I mumbled, "I'm just tired."

"Then go to sleep." He ordered I curled up next to him, laying my head on his leg. He ran his hands through my red hair, chuckling.

"Amazing, to tired to even argue." Was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.

JASON'S POINT OF VEIW:

She had a side kick already? Dang, she's growing up. Leader of a team and a mentor to some street kid who didn't have a clue.

I shook my head, "Slow down Justin, just slow down already."

It was all going by to fast. I had only known her for five years, and she was already trying to move out from under me. No, that wasn't going to happen! She was to young, and not ready. She was staying my side kick, even if I had to keep her under my thumb for five more years.

I looked down at Justin, and realized how much she had grown in the past few months. She was eye to eye with Kimberly now. I remembered when she used to be such a small kid, even for her age she was small. Ten years old, and barley four foot two. She could barley hold a gun straight when I met her. It was cute.

I remembered when I first met her, and then when I first took her to my hide out.

**I wanted to cram my gun down Talia's throat. I was the Red Hood, a deadly assassin, not a baby sitter or some fourth grade teacher. I didn't sign up to look after little kids.**

**The little girl riding shot gun next to me sensed my tension, and tensed up herself. Her eyes darted around for some unseen threat, trying to figure out what had me riled up. She stopped searching when she found nothing, realizing I was upset about her. She looked down at her knees, probably hurt her feelings. Ya know what? I don't care. She's not my problem. I was dumping her off at an orphanage the minute Talia looked away. That's where she belonged anyways, since I doubt her last teacher was her mother.**

**I have no idea why this kid was such an interest to Talia, she was kind of weak. She was small, didn't have much muscle on her, and was afraid of everything she saw. She was afraid of my car. Probably had never been in one. I rolled my eyes, and sped up. Her eyes narrowed and she grabbed onto the door handle a little tighter. Pathetic.**

**Yep, orphanage the first chance I got.**

**When I parked beside the warehouse I was currently staying at, she all but jumped out of the car. Her eyes immediately scanned the area around us, looking for something. She expected enemies to be hiding behind the bushes? Jumpy kid.**

"**Come on kid." I called to her. She practically jogged to catch up to me, watching me warily as I opened the door and walked in. She was afraid of me too. Good, I liked that.**

**She followed me in, afraid to fall behind, but even more afraid to follow to close. She watched every movement I made, and if I moved to quickly, she leaned away, tensing up and ready to block a nonexistent attack.**

**If I wanted to kill her, I would have done it already. Deciding to mess with the kid, I grabbed at her arm, and she backed up three steps, putting up one hand to block any other attack, and the other curling into a surprisingly solid looking fist.**

**Her eyes glared at me, not even looking at my eyes, but my entire body, trying to see everything movement I made. She probably could.**

**I slowly moved towards her, body language indicating I wasn't trying to hurt her. She didn't trust it, and took two more steps back.**

"**Easy." I ordered.**

**She raised an eyebrow, confused. She was used to being attacked without mercy. For a moment, I wondered if the whole 'I am afraid of everything' attitude was a act, to get me to underestimate her.**

**I scanned her eyes and body language, no. She was afraid of everything, but I had underestimated her. Not only did she watch me intently, she watched everything around me, looking for any other person who might attack. She was focused, centered. Her small figure I had mistaken for weak was now coiled to spring, every muscle tensed and clearly visible now. He upper arms might not be strong, but her leg muscles made up for it. Her kick packed a lot more force than her punch, which was unusual.**

**I walked towards her more, and she backed up more, until she hit a wall. That was a stupid move on her part, she was smarter than this, but she hadn't been thinking. I lunged foreword, pinning her legs to the wall with my knees, and grabbing one arm, but before I could do the same to the other, she had already socked me in the face, and then grabbed a small fist full of my hair, trying to yank me to the side.**

**I grabbed her wrist, and she cringed, waiting for me to bend it back, but I didn't. I just turned away and yanked her after me, dragging her where I wanted her to go.**

**When she saw that's all I was doing, she lightened up, and stepped with me. I wasn't dragging her anymore, I was leading her. I lead her into the main room, where the couch, TV, and the few books and magazines I owned were. I shoved her down on the couch, and grabbed the closest book I could, a dictionary.**

**I shoved it into her hands, glaring at her. I did not have time for a snot nosed little kid. "Sit here, read the book, don't talk, and don't move."**

**She nodded, and opened the first page of the book. Wow, she was really going to read it.**

**I shook my head, walking into the kitchen and grabbing myself a beer. It would take a few weeks for Talia to drop her guard, and the kid would be out of my hair. My mind wandered to the kid's looks. The hair and eyes had taken me off guard. For a second, I thought Kim had been staring at me.**

I shook my head at that memory. I had been so wrong. Within the first two days, Justin had finished the dictionary, and had read every book and magazine I had. Then she reread everything. She even read the dictionary two more times. She never once moved from the couch, not even to eat. After three days, I had gotten worried she would pass out from hunger, but then decided to see how far I could push her.

**After a week, she still hadn't eaten. She slept more often, to try and escape the pain she was no doubt feeling. She hadn't once touched the remote, and the TV was gathering dust. Weird kid. I would have figured 'Screw you, I'm hungry' and moved by now. But no, she was to scared.**

**Whenever she saw me reach for a gun she tensed. Whenever I walked into the room she tensed. Whenever she saw something or heard something she tensed. Kid needed to hide her emotions, it was annoying.**

**Then after eight days of not leaving that couch, I went out to bust up a shipment of drugs, and when I came back, I knew something was different. She seemed happier, a bit more at ease and looked like she wasn't starving. I pretended not to notice, and went to the kitchen. She had eaten, I could tell.**

**She hadn't left any mess, and to be honest if I wasn't completely positive I hadn't eaten those bread rolls I wouldn't have noticed. I walked out of the kitchen, storming into the living room, "You left the couch."**

**She looked up at me, fear clear in her eyes, but there was defiance under that. "I was hungry. I haven't had anything to eat in twelve days."**

"**It's only been eight." I protested.**

"**Eight here." She retorted, looking down at the concrete floor. "You think they fed me every day back there?"**

**I paused, if I had known the kid hadn't eaten in that long, I wouldn't have done that. I just wanted to mess with her, toy around with her head, that was all. She had only been three or four days away from dying of hunger. Actually, those three bread rolls hadn't been a lot of food. She was afraid to take to much, she knew I would notice.**

**I left the room, and came back with a can of soda that I hadn't touched in four weeks, and an open can of cheese, chicken, and broccoli soup. I handed her both. She looked up at me, surprised.**

"**Just eat it kid." I ordered, and left the room.**

"**Thank you." She whispered, before turning all her attention to the food, and inhaling it as quickly as possible. I watched her from outside the door, surprised she didn't throw up. After eating all there was, she curled up on the couch like a tired kitten, and fell asleep. Sleep would keep her from throwing up. She was used to this.**

**I shook my head, she was only ten years old, and she was used to this. The thought made me sick.**

Justin mumbled in her sleep, I couldn't make it out. She mumbled again, "Green eyes."

I raised an eyebrow, who's green eyes?

"Leave me alone." She mumbled again, "No, ow. Stop it." and then was silent. She curled closer to me, obviously scared about whatever dream she was having.

I knew she talked in her sleep, she always had. Mostly when she was stressed, or scared. She was scared a lot when I first met her. If I had known she was my daughter back then…

I probably would have taken her to Gotham and dumped her with Bruce just to mess with him, and her. Turn up every now and then just to mess with her head, make her life miserable, and make her into me slowly. I won't lie, I was horrible back then. What can I say? Justin grew on me.


	28. Kidnapped!

Hot Shot, as I called him, was a fair learner. He wasn't incredibly fast, and since I was impatient, it put strain on our progression. He wasn't really slow either, he caught on good enough. Already his foot work was a bit less sloppy and his stance more defendable.

Still, he was no where near good enough without his powers.

He sat next to me on the bench, panting slightly and drinking from his water bottle. "Wow, you're really good at this." He said, gulping some more down.

"I've been training since I four." I said.

"Four?" He asked.

"Well, training for pain anyways." I said, shrugging. "Eight was when I started learning to fight."

"Wow that sounds… really life scaring." He said.

I didn't react to that. "You get over it eventually, ya know? Life moves on."

"Touchy subject still?" He asked.

"It's just a long story… filled with grimaces and sighs." I said.

"I know plenty of those." He said.

"Is living on the streets one of those?" I asked.

"No, living on the streets was a long story filled with cursing and scars." He said, smirking, then quickly stopped, eyes glazing over with regret. "My parents story is filled with grimaces and sighs though."

"It said they died in a fire." I prompted. "I'm guessing that fire was started by you."

"It was an accident." He said quickly. "They got me angry and I just… I couldn't control it at the time and-"

"I understand." I said. "I've made a lot of messes by being angry, so I can sympathize."

"I don't need your pity." He spat, glaring at me.

I glared back at him, "I wasn't giving it." I snapped, venom on my voice.

We glared at each other, neither backing down for about three minutes, I was tempted to grab that single hair on his chin and just yank it off!

Some one cleared their throat, and we turned to see Conan standing there.

Raphael glared at her, "What is it Super Fake?"

Conan glared at him, "Apparently I'm interrupting an epic battle of wills that, let's face it, Justin would have won."

Weird, Conan dissed me every chance she got, well, maybe not every chance, but often enough. I guess she liked me more than Raphael.

Hot Shot glared at her, "Listen _clone_, whatever it was, you were interrupting, and that's rude. Why don't you just go home already? The only one who likes you is that necromancer, so take her with you. No one likes her anyways."

Conan's eyes lit up, not with heat vision, but she was so made her eyes were practically icy blue fire. I jumped up, grabbing her should as she took a few steps foreword, "Easy Conan, he's just a stupid kid."

"Smart enough to pick a name that isn't some cheep-o knock off." He said, standing up and grabbing a towel, drying his sweat covered hair out with it, and then letting it rest on his shoulders, smirking at Conan. "Kerosene Is way better than Super Kid."

"Conan, don't!" I ordered, pushing her back a bit. "Just leave, he's trying to get you to attack him." I ducked my head to her ear, and whispered only low enough for a kryptonian to hear, "Don't let him win. Be the bigger hero." She started to walk past me and I quickly added, "What would Ma Kent say?"

Conan took a deep breath, and calmed down, she started to turn away, and Raphael snickered, "Good girl."

Conan jerked her head to look at him, and he smirked again, making a clicking noise with his tongue like one would give a dog to send it away. Conan tensed, but I quickly captured her gaze. She shook her head, and walked away.

I turned to glare at Raphael, he smirked, "What? Angry I ticked off the clone?"

"DROP AND GIVE ME SEVENTY!" I ordered, giving him a look that I seldom used, usually I only used it when Kenya had gotten hurt, usually toward who ever caused it or didn't prevent it. Kyler called it the big-sister-bat-glare.

"What do-"

"I SAID SEVENTY, RIGHT NOW SCUMMB!" I yelled, in a tone I had heard boot camp instructors give to army brats.

He immediately dropped, hastily doing push ups as fast as he could on the padded floor.

I circled him as he did, "You are not Conan's superior, and you are far from her equal! She is a founding member of this team, where as you're looking at at least a year before you can join the team. You're my side kick, you pathetic maggot! You can make fun of her and agitate her all you want when you become part of the team, when you actually get a DR badge. Until then, you're to show her nothing but respect!"

He snorted, "Fat chance, she's pathetic!"

I kicked his chin, sending him tumbling a little, he stood up to fight, but I stopped him, "DID I TELL YOU TO STOP! NO, YOU'VE STILL GOT FOURTY FIVE TO GO, HOT SHOT! NOW DO THEM!"

He dropped back down, vigorously throwing himself into them again.

"Faster, my grandmother is more lively than you!" I said.

Finally, he got done, and his arms probably felt like jelly.

He stood up, breathing a little heavy, and stood in front of me, at attention. "Hit the showers maggot." I ordered.

"Yes Ma'am." He said, running off.

"I'M NOT A MA'AM!" I shouted, taking out a gun and firing of one bullet through a window.

I heard him gasp a little, probably thinking I was firing at him, and then duck into the showers.

I shook my head, and walked out of the weight room through the automatic door. Conan was leaning against the wall, "Thanks." She said quietly.

"No one calls you clone but me." I said firmly.

"Possessive much?" She asked.

"I don't know how to answer that without sounding weird." I said, walking away.

My phone rang and I quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Justin, it just got really dark." A voice whispered.

"Kenya?" I asked, uncertain. "What's going on?"

"There's a man here, in the mansion, he hurt Alfred and I think he cut the power, I couldn't call you on the house phone." She whispered.

My hand tightened on the phone, and I ran for the garage, "Who is he?"

"I don't know, I've never met him."

"What does he look like?" I asked, throwing the garage door open and running for my bike.

"He's taller than Daddy, but thin, really thin. He's got light brown hair, and blue eyes. I think he's Russian." She whispered.

_Russian, that could mean he's with… oh no, no, NO! HOLY-_ Suddenly, Kenya cried out, and there was a struggle on the other end of the line as I mounted the bike.

I revved it up, and tore out of DR, racing towards Wayne Manor.

I talked loudly into the phone, hoping he hadn't dropped the phone and run. "This is Justin Todd speaking, you have my little sister and I want to know why."

There was a dark chuckle on the end of the line, followed by Kenya's whimper. "Talia's orders. Last guy we sent wasn't to good. She had no idea your skills had progressed so much. She didn't want to make that mistake again."

"It's me you want, not her." I reasoned, driving faster and weaving in and out of traffic, horns honking all around me. "Trade, me for her?"

"Naturally." He said.

"Meet you at Wayne Manor." I said.

"No! You think I don't know your tricks kid? Wayne Manor is your home turf, trap doors, sliding book cases, it's a living torture chamber, and I hardly know where anything is." He said, shattering my plan. "Meet me on the top of Wayne Enterprises. I don't think I need to tell you to come alone, right? Oh, and I'd hurry if I were you, because it's been a long time since I've had some fun, and your little sister is cute."

Every muscle fiber in my body burned with rage and determination. "You touch her in any inappropriate way, and I'll cut you into tiny little pieces and force feed you to Talia." I threatened, meaning every word. Forget the rules! This guy hurts Kenya, and I'll kill him in the most painful way I know how to. Then I will chop him up into tiny little pieces, and do just what I said I would do.

A chuckle was all I heard, before the line went dead. I shook my head in rage, if I had been home, none of this would have happened.


	29. The Offer

As soon as I got there, I knew it wasn't what it seemed. The way he held her, the way he looked at me, and the way he stood, he wasn't really all calm and collected as he had been over the phone. Might be the big-sister-bat-glare on my face, might have been the fact I came in costume, fully equipped, or maybe the fact I was ready to kill him, despite Batman's rules. If I had a kill shot, you could bet I was gonna take it!

He could see that I wasn't here with Batman's rules strapped to my forehead, that made him nervous. My eyes were on every kill shot he had, trying to find one to hit.

"Oh please, there's not need for that." He said, tossing Kenya across the top of the building to me.

I caught her easily, and she clung to me, sobbing slightly and hiding herself in my leather jacket, while I took out a gun, and raised it, aiming for his head.

"Talia is offering to let you go free, to live as your own being and go where ever you wish without having to look over your shoulder for her lackeys." He said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes." He said, and tossed me something, a flash drive. "The Tournament of Assassins. She requests you compete. She says you may bring any one you wish to fight alongside you, but she forbids you from choosing Damian Al Ghul."

I frowned, "His name is Wayne now, make sure you tell her that, and that I'll consider her offer."

"There is no consideration, either you accept, or she sends some one else after you, some one you will have no chance of winning against." He said, and jumped off the roof, shooting out a line, and leaving.

I clutched Kenya tightly as she trembled, and looked up at me, "Justin, what are you gonna do?"

I shook my head, "I'll figure something out."

AT THE MANSION:

Alfred was fine, just a little shaken up. Dad was completely livid that Kenya had been taken. Mom looked a little scared, she didn't like that fact Kenya had been taken so easily, or that Talia was stepping up her game.

I plugged the flash drive into the bat computer, and a video popped up, Talia on it. "Hello Justin Todd. Normally I don't stoop so low as to personally extend an invitation, but I felt it necessary. My apologies for having to bring your meaningless little sister into this, but how else was I to gain your attention?"

"Knock on the door." I growled.

"Shh." Dad scolded.

"As you know, the Tournament of Assassins is coming up, and to participate, you must bring another contestant, one your age, to fight with you. Don't waste my time trying to send a reply, if you show up, your in the tournament, if not, you're a target once more. Remember, you can not bring my son, and the other contestant must be your age." The video ended.

Every one was silent for a few minutes. Then, Damian spoke up, "Would you care to pick out your gravestone now, or right before you leave?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Damian." I growled.

"On the contrary, I have the utmost confidence in you, you simply have no chance at winning without me, because all the other fighters your age that would actually go with you are pitiful compared to the assassins there." He said.

Dad put a hand on my shoulder, "Forget about it. We'll work something out."

I paused, glaring at the screen, "No, there's only one person I know who could survive with me."

Mom raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

I shook my head, "You won't like it, and I don't think I'm going to like asking him."

I hated groveling, or begging for anything. I hated the thought of actually saying please. I was going to have to do that a lot if I actually wanted to convince _him _to come with me.

Kenya looked down at her feet in shame, "This is all my fault, if I hadn't of gotten captured-"

"No Kenya." Mom said, picking her up and holding her, "It's not your fault, it's Talia's fault, all of this is Talia's fault."

**Who wants to guess who she's going to take with her? ****J**


	30. Damian To The Rescuse!

His room was simple, a twin bed with tan sheets, and a small desk with a lamp and writing material across the room. His choir boy outfit was hanging in his closet, along with a few shirts and a pair of shoes, but other than that, nothing.

I guess that he didn't care, since he seemed so happy here. He stirred in his sleep, mumbling in English and Hebrew. I shook my head, he wasn't Hebrew, he shouldn't be speaking it so much, without even trying too.

"You gonna wake up now idiot?" I asked loudly.

He flinched in his sleep, and then sat bolt right up, eyes immediately going to me. "Black Hood? What are you- How did you get- Why!"

"Long story short, I have to go to Russia to compete in a tournament filled with assassins to get a crazy old lady to stop sending people to kill me, and I have to bring another assassin. You're the only one my age who I know can handle themselves. Wanna help me out?" I asked, trying to get right to the point, being painfully clear.

"What?" He asked.

"Oh boy…"

Half an hour later, he finally understood.

"I can't." He said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"We're pacifists, we only fight when we need to, so I can't help you out." He said.

"Well, if you don't come with me, I'll be forced to bring Kyler, and then we'll both die." I said. "What does your religion have to say about that?"

He smirked, "I'll come with you, on one condition."

"Name it."

"Admit you need me and without me you'll die." He said, crossing his arms and smirking at me.

I stood there, rigid, and **not **in the mood for this. I took out a gun, and aimed it at his forehead. "Swear on that Bible that you'll help me or I swear to God, I'll shoot you, cut you up into tiny little pieces, and force feed you to Mary and Michael." I said in the deadliest tone I could manage.

He flinched, and quickly did it, using the Bible on his nightstand.

I nodded in approval, "Meet me at pier 45 tomorrow night. Be prepared to be gone a long time. No matter what you do, do not wear that white costume of yours. It's tacky and they'll see you easily, these are hard core, trained assassins, not Gotham thugs."

I tossed a small capsule from inside my jacket onto the floor, and smoke quickly engulfed the room.

As I slipped out the window, I heard him say my name in the middle of a lot of Hebrew, he was probably cursing me, and asking God to send me to Hell for filling his small room with smoke he was probably choking on by now.

IN THE BATCAVE:

"There is no way your going alone." Dad said firmly.

I sighed, rubbing the barrel of my gun down with a grease covered cloth. "I can't take you with me, just Gabriel."

"I don't like that kid." Dad growled, "He practically mauled you!"

"He just broke my arm." I argued, loading the gun with amo and cocking it. "And I shot him in both of his shoulders, and beat him to a bloody pulp, _and_broke his nose."

"I'm not saying you didn't get in your own shots." Dad said, "But no one has ever beat you up that bad, not since after…" He trailed off, not wanting to talk about the Joker.

"That's exactly the reason why he's the obvious choice for the competition." I argued, packing the gun away into a bag of about six others. That's the hand guns down, now all that's left is a few rifles and maybe and AK-47.

My thoughts drifted to all the other assassins I had grown up with. Oh yeah, I'm so taking an AK-47. Maybe even two. And knives. Lots of knives. Lots of different kinds of knives. Sharp knives.

I grabbed the nearest AK-47, and not only loaded it with amo, but wrapped a few rounds of amo around it, and carefully laid it down in the case.

"Justin, I'm going with you, and that is all there is to it." He said firmly.

"All there is to it, is if I show up with you, Talia won't lay off of me, even if I compete and win, let alone survive." He flinched at that. "I for one, don't want to spend the rest of my life on edge, looking for assassins, The way Talia is, no matter how hard I look, my life will be short anyway."

"Talia won't mind if I come." Dad debated, "As long as I don't compete with you."

"I'm not taking that chance!" I said, exasperated.

"I'm not letting you go alone!" He shouted.

"I'm not a kid anymore!" I debated, "I can take care of myself, and I don't need to keep hiding behind you!"

"You're not good enough!" He growled, "I can't just let you go by yourself, you aren't ready!"

"Yes I am! I've been ready for a long time, you're just to blinded to see that!"

"You're still a child, you can't see these things yet, so listen to me!" He said, grabbing my shoulders and lifting me off the ground easily, glaring into my eyes, "You're not strong enough, you'll die! I'm not going to let that happen, so why don't you be smart for once, and listen to your Dad?"

"No!" I shouted, struggling to get out of his hold. "I'm ready for this! I can do it! Why don't you believe me!"

"Because you're wrong!" He said, shacking me roughly.

"No I'm not!" I protested.

"Yes you are!" He screamed in utter rage, and tossed me down in the chair in front of the bat computer. "I'm going with you, that's all there is too it. I'm not letting you go back to the League of Assassins without me, especially if you're fighting with Gabriel."

He turned to leave, "I'm going to go pack, don't even try to leave, because you know I'll catch up to you."

He was right, no matter how much I didn't want to admit it, he would find me, and there would be Hell to pay.

Damian appeared out of now where, "Tt, your father annoys me."

"Good to know." I mumbled.

"You're more than capable of going by yourself." He observed.

"Tell him that." I snapped.

Damian hesitated, "I would go with you… if I could."

"It's OK." I said, "it's not your fault."

"But you need to go." He clarified.

"Yes." I said. "I can't live with a bounty on my head forever."

"Then go, I'll take care of your dad."

"How?" I asked.

"Your dad's been paying me to smuggle beer in for him, I'll just drug it." He said, smirking.

I paused, and then a grin spread across my face, "Are you sure Bruce is your father?"

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, "Who else would it be?"

"Never mind." I said, quickly packing all the knives I could and grabbing all my stuff, two back packs, and a suitcase, all full of guns and knives. "Bye Damian, say bye to everyone for me!"

"You are so lucky I am always watching out for you Justin." Damian mumbled, watching her leave, and then quickly left to do his mission.

AT THE PIER:

I watched from a roof top as Gabriel stood on the end of a pier, looking around for me. I crept from the building, to crates, to the pier, sneaking up behind him.

"About time!" I snapped.

He whirled around, seeing me, "What are you talking about! I've been waiting here for two hours!"

"Two hours? Ha! I've been here for about five." I lied.

"Well how are we getting to Russia?" He asked.

"A boat." I said, pointing to the very pitiful excuse for a row boat at the edge of the pier. It was covered in nasty barnacles and the hull had some kind of sea fungus growing on it. The oars didn't look like they could row ten feet, let alone all the way across the ocean.

Gabriel's eyes went wide, "You have got to be kidding me."

"I am." I said, as a helicopter came into sight. "That's our ride."

The helicopter came closer, dropping a ladder that I quickly threw myself at, jumping off the pier and grabbing it in mid air, scurrying up the rope ladder like a young monkey.

Gabriel waited for it to get over the pier, and then grabbed onto the bottom, climbing up after me.

I got inside and jumped into the pilot's seat. Gabriel got up, and looked around, "Where's the guy who flew it here?"

"It's called artificial pilot Bible Boy." I said, strapping myself in.

"You know how to fly this thing right?" He asked.

"If I didn't I wouldn't be sitting in the pilots seat." I retorted, grabbing a hold of the controls and turning auto pilot off.

Gabriel yelped a little when I shot the helicopter foreword for all it was worth, quickly leaving Gotham in the dust. "You say your goodbyes?"

"Michael and Mary were sad to see me go, they don't trust you." He said.

"Well, my family doesn't trust you either." I said, easing back on the controls a little.

He smirked a little, "But you do, how sweet."

"I trust you to know that if you betray me I'll beat you with a crowbar until you're literally a bloody pulp smeared on the ground." I said.

He was hesitant for a moment, "You talk like you have experience in that matter."

"I do." I said.

His eyes widened, "Who wronged you so bad you did that to them! And how can I avoid it?"

"One, I was the one beat with a crowbar. Two, if you want to avoid it, sit down and shut up!" I shouted.

He lifted his hands in mock surrender, "OK, I get it, quiet as a mouse."

"And when we get there, let me do the talking. These guys are trained killers from birth. They're born by the sword, they live by the sword, and they all know they'll die by the sword." I explained. No sense in sending him in blind folded. "They will kill you for stupid reasons, like bumping into them or interrupting them. They'll kill you for looking at them wrong. Best thing to do, keep your head down and your mouth shut."

"You know a lot about this." He observed.

"I was raised with them." I said.

"You were raised as an assassin?" He asked, not believing.

"Yeah. I was, from about two years old, to right around when I was ten. Things got much better after that." I said.

He stared at me for awhile, "You're not who I thought you were."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"I thought you were just… I mean, another moody hero with to much spare time, I never thought you had such… depth." He said. "You're… complicated."

"That's the life of every member of the bat family." I brushed off.

"Yeah but, you're different." He pointed out.

"Just drop it." I said, growling a little.

"OK." He said, "But you're still interesting."


	31. Jason Wakes Up

JASON'S POINT OF VEIW:

When I woke up, my head was pounding, I groaned, sitting up, and seeing I was on the couch. What happened? Last thing I remember was Damian giving me a beer I don't remember asking for…

"HOLY-!"

"Jason!" Kim said, turning sharply to me, "Quiet down, I'm trying to watch T.V."

"What happened?" I questioned, holding my pounding head tightly, "Where's Justin?"

"She left." Kim said, turning the TV off, much to Tim's displeasure.

"Left!" I asked, as if the word was completely foreign, "But I told her to wait for me to-"

"She's gone Todd, she left last night without you." Damian said, jumping on the other side of Kim, and slouching on the couch.

My eyes narrowed, "You put something in my drink!"

"So?" He asked, raising and eyebrow, challenging me, "Some one had to do it."

"Damian." Kim said firmly, "Why would you drug his drink?"

"So Justin could get out of here without you following her." Damian said.

My eyes widened in rage, and I jumped over Kim and onto him, wrapping my hands around his throat, "YOU DID WHAT?"

Kim grabbed me, trying to pull me off, "Jason stop!"

Damian's face started to get red, and he gasped for breath, trying to get away from me. I wouldn't allow that, he just sent my daughter off to her death. Tim joined in, trying to pry my hands loose.

Alfred came in, and nearly screamed when he saw Damian getting blue in the face.

"Master Jason, please, you're killing him." Alfred said, trying to be reason with me, but I was way past that.

Justin was probably in Russia by now, half a world away. She wasn't here, I couldn't protect her from Talia now. Kenya screamed, and that's what made me loosen my grip on Damian's throat.

Kim and Tim yanked me off, and Tim quickly got me in a head lock, and Kim was just as quick slapping cuffs on me. She always carried those on her.

Damian jumped off the couch, and practically colliding into his father, Bruce. Bruce and me locked eyes, and just glared at each other. Incredibly, he was the one to speak first. "Jason, she'll be fine."

I exploded, "No she won't! Bruce, she's rash, careless, and she overestimates herself! She'll fall for one trap after another! She'll die, and if I'm not there, no one will bail her out!"

"She took Gabriel." Kim said, trying to calm me down.

"He mauled her before, and I'm supposed to trust him with my kid?" I screeched.

"Breaking her arm doesn't count as mauling her." Tim debated.

"If you don't shut up, I'll break your arm!" I threatened, flinging him off of me.

Dick entered the room, "Jason, clam down, before you can do anything to help her you need to calm down."

I took a deep breath, and Kim took the hand cuffs off of me, and I glared at her, she was Justin's mom. "How could _you _off all people let her go?"

She stood up, crossing her arms at me, "Because, you're the one that told me I needed to give her room to grow, so I am."

"She'll get herself killed!" I said, standing up and glaring down at her, "I said give her room, not send her to her doom!"

Kenya clapped, "Yay! Dr. Sues!" _Was that intentional?_

"Dick walked over putting a hand on my shoulder, "Jason, if you show up there, you'll only be hurting Justin. You know Talia won't let you interfere in any off those trials. You can't protect her even if you go, she _**has **_to do it on her own, and you know that Jason."

I paused, he was right, even if I was there, I couldn't do anything. Did I really want to stand by helplessly while I watched her possibly get killed? No.

Bruce spoke up, "And I think it's about time we said hello to our guest."

We all turned to him, to see he was staring at a corner of the room, glaring at whoever was there. We all looked, to see some one standing there, a man. He was dressed in white, probably how Bruce had spotted him so easily.

He wordlessly stepped foreword, and we all tensed, ready to fight him. However, he simply walked up to me, handing me a small flash drive, "You are the father of Justine Todd, correct?"

"Yeah." I said, glaring at him with an anger I had never known.

I could see a little fear in his eyes as I took the flash drive. "This will help you watch your daughter's progress in the tournament, we video everything." He backed away, heading towards the window.

"The entry code to see your Daughter's recordings is 'Todd'."

He opened the window to leave, and I spoke up, "Can I go there myself?"

"No." He said, turning towards me sharply. "Talia told me to tell you, if you come, not only will she disqualify Justin, but she promises she won't live to be sixteen, same scenario if she fails the tournament, seeing as I will be given the task of killing her the minute she steps foot back in America."

My eyes blazed with a hatred that I had never felt before, I was looking at the man who would kill my daughter. "You don't know my daughter." I ground out, as the only thing I could think to say.

He snorted, "I know enough to say she wouldn't last long against me." And just like that, he slipped out the window and was gone.

I just stared at the window for awhile, until Kimberley put her hand on my shoulder, "Jason, what are we going to do?"

I paused, looking down a the little white flash drive. I looked at Damian, Tim, Dick, Alfred, then Bruce. Finally, I looked back to Kim.

"We're going to the bat computer." A few minutes later, it was all hooked up, and I was looking at a video of Justin walking into a room, obviously a bedroom, and practically tackling the bed, and falling asleep. _You should have checked for camera Justin, you know Talia would always have a camera on you._

Kim put her hand on my shoulder again, looking worried for the first time today. "Jason, will she be okay?"

I looked at her, and forced a smile, "If there's one thing I know, it's that Jason Todd doesn't train a kid for years and have nothing to show for it. I know she'll live, she's at the very least, able to do that."

Kim nodded, reassured, and left.

Dick turned to me, "You're handling this vaguely well."

I glared at him, "Are you kidding me? The only thing keeping me from killing Damian, flying to Russia, dragging Justin back here, and then killing White Ghost when ever he comes is the fact that you'd all try to stop me fail, and then give me the cold shoulder for a few months, my girlfriend would be mad at me, and my kid would probably end up dying from an assassin Talia sends."

He raised an eyebrow, "And the fact Alfred would give you any desert for awhile?"

"Yeah, that too."


	32. Adim  Good! Dunya  Bad!

The flight to Russian was long and torturous, I mean, we were in a **helicopter**! It was a special helicopter though. It flew a lot faster than most, a man I knew had personally put this together with his own two hands, piece by piece. After several hours, we got to Russia, and I carefully landed the helicopter on a marked roof.

A man quickly came out of a hatch door at a corner on the roof, running over to me, "Todd Kid!" The Russian accent was thick, very thick.

Gabriel tensed up, but I shook my head at him. I turned back to the man who was quickly approaching. "Adim!" I greeted, "Good to see you."

"Good see you well!" He said back, reaching us and smiling widely. His skin was _**way **_to pale, he didn't get out… at all. His clothes were covered in grease and God only knows what else. Goggles rested on his forehead, he kept those on so no grease or oil got into his eyes.

"How too been?" He asked.

"I've been good." I said, smiling. "Lot of bad stuff happened, but I'm very happy now."

He paused for a moment, and then smiled, understanding what I meant, "Good, good!" He turned his attention to the helicopter, looking her over. "How handle?"

I smiled, "Simple as can be. Easy flying."

He smiled in pride, his creations were his children. He turned to Gabriel, then to me, a raised eyebrow. "This is Gabriel, he's with me." I explained, "From Gotham."

"Godam!" He exclaimed, turning to Gabriel, and immediately grabbing his face in between his hands, turning it from right to left slowly, examining ever portion of it. After a few minutes, he let him go, and turned to me, "African American, six foot two inches und three point eight quarters of a inch. Scarring around right eyebrow, from size three butterfly knife with rusty blade. Small scars on ears, from ear rings. Has not worn any in exactly three year, four month, five day." He said.

I nodded, giving him a thumbs up, "Good job." I gave him the keys to the helicopter. He gleamed, going back inside.

Gabriel turned to me, "Who- no, _**what **_was that?"

"That was Adim." I said, "He's the guy that helped me get out of Russia and to America. He obviously doesn't speak English well." He followed me as I jumped off the roof, landing on a dumpster expertly. "He hardly ever leaves this warehouse. He has way to much time on his hands, and he puts it to good use, the helicopter for example."

"What was that with the face thing?" He asked.

"He likes to break everything down into formulas, analyze everything." I said, leading him out of the alley and down a few streets, "Wanna know the best part?"

"You got me curious." He confessed.

"He's never wrong." I said, smirking at Gabriel, "And I mean _**never**_."

"Wait you mean… like _**never**_, as in _**never ever**_?" He questioned.

"Mhm." I said easily.

"How is that possible-"

"I have no idea, but it is." I said, ending the conversation. We walked for a little ways, then got a Taxi, then a train, then started hiking through the woods to get to the stupid place. Guess what it was? Yep, spooky old castle. Probably had dungeons in it.

I walked up to the front door, Gabriel right behind me, "So how do we get in? Secret password? Knock in a certain rhythm?"

"You _are _an idiot." I commented, and rang the door bell. The door quickly opened, and a guard, probably a very skilled ninja, opened the door.

"Name and mentor?" He asked.

"I'm Justin Todd, and my mentor is Jason Todd. I brought another contestant as Talia instructed." I said.

"And his name?" The guard asked me.

"Gabriel." Gabriel interjected. "Please to meet you."

The ninja looked at him like he was crazy, and shook his head, probably wondering why I would choose him of all people to bring. "Enter then."

We quickly walked in, glad to be out of the cold snowy weather, I stared straight ahead as we were led down the halls, but Gabriel looked everywhere, taking in the very expensive looking artifacts and decorations. Finally, we were instructed to go into a room I assumed was either our living quarters for our stay, or Talia's office. Turned out to be the later of the two.

She didn't even look up from whatever she was doing at her desk. "Justine, glad to have you back."

"It's Justin." I said, walking in with Gabriel right at my heels.

She grimaced, "That nick name was your father's first mistake with you, making you think you were special, that you were cared about enough to be set apart from the others."

"I'm a fifteen year old homicidal red head trained by Jason Todd. The last one's pretty special in itself." I said, smirking.

"You're an assassin, you were trained to blend in, not stand out." She said, frowning at me like a scientist would a failed lab rat experiment. "We spent so much time and effort, and your father ruined it all."

"I prefer to see it as, he fixed me." I debated. "But enough about me." I sat down in a chair across from her desk, and Gabriel followed the gesture. "What's up with you?"

"I'm not playing this game with you Justine, now, who is this idiotic peasant you've brought with you?" She asked, not even looking at Gabriel.

"Uh first of all, it's-" Gabriel started.

Talia's head whipped towards him in anger, "I did not address you! Keep your mouth shut and tongue still or I will cut it off!"

He stared at her, and I fought back the urge to snicker, and said with a poker face fixed nicely on my features, "I told you to let me do the talking. Anyways, this is Gabriel, street kid straight from the heart of Gotham mixed with Jesus' personality. Basically he's a choir boy on steroids. Any more questions?"

"None that matter really, but I am curious as to how you convinced your father to let you come without him." She said, a raised eyebrow delicately posed on her flawless face.

"You can thank your son for that, not only does he have his father's brilliance, he has his mother's sneaky quirks." I said, smiling a bit to be polite.

She glared at me, then he gaze softened, and she turned to Gabriel, "Get out, the guard outside will take you to your quarter's, you will be sharing a room with Justine."

Gabriel nodded, and left. Talia turned back to me, "How has my son been doing?"

"A lot better." I said, "He's mouthing off to his teachers less and less every day, obeying Bruce more diligently, and even being semi nice to Tim."

"And his skills?" She asked.

"Bruce has seen to it that he's making steady improvement, and I have to be constantly working to make sure he doesn't get ahead of me." I said, shrugging.

She hesitated, afraid to ask something.

"He doesn't really talk about you at all." I said, "If he misses you he doesn't show it. I'm better than him at reading faces so if he did miss you, I'd know." I was tempted to say sorry, but I wouldn't mean it, therefore it would mean nothing to her, or myself.

She brushed it off like it didn't bother her, but I know it did. "How is he getting along with his father?"

"He doesn't have the same bond with Bruce as he does Dick. I don't think he ever will really. In some ways, Dick will always be his true father, and I think he prefers it that way." I paused, than continued, "What's your game Talia? If you wanted to see your son, why not let me bring him? If you wanted to test my skills, there are other, much simpler ways than this. If your trying to capture me and keep me here again, then I'd say you've gone a bit overboard. I had no idea I was that important to you, you've got me feeling all special now Talia."

"Such emotion and disrespect." Said a woman's voice as some one else entered.

"Dunya, glad you could come." Talia greeted. I stiffened, oh no… was this what Talia's game was? Trying to get me to relive childhood trauma and be distracted in the competition? I knew if I was distracted for on moment in that hell hole, I was dead.

The woman walked up behind me, "Justine, I see you're all grown up now. I haven't seen you in over five years. Why are you still sitting down, don't I get a hug?" She asked, coming to stand next to my chair.

"The only reason I would hug you is so I could stab you in the back!" I barked, glaring at her. This was Dunya, my first trainer. She was brutal, beating me whenever I messed up, talked back, or even asked a question she didn't feel like answering. She would starve me, and then beat me when I asked to eat or my stomach growled to loudly, calling me weak. She said she was making me strong, that she was fixing me and mending my broken parts. She broke way to many parts of me, both physical and mental, to have helped in any way other than teaching me to fight.

"Well, how is that any way to greet the woman who was practically a mother to you?' she asked, sitting down in Gabriel's old seat.

"My first and only mother is Kimberley Mathilda, and you'll do well to remember that." I said, glaring at her.

"Such a tone to use!" She said disapprovingly, "Why if I was still your instructor-"

"You'd beat me black and blue again? Sorry, not going to let you do it. As a matter of fact, if you ever try to touch me again, I'll break your hand." I said steadily, turning away from her and to Talia.

"Now, about the competition?" I asked.

"It's something we've done in the past, I thought you'd like to participate, show your father how ready you really are." She smoothly.

I frowned, "I can do that without a bloody competition."

"Shying away from shedding blood?" Dunya asked disapprovingly, "You were always so soft Justine."

"First of all, it's just a saying. Second of all, shut up before I kick you in the teeth." I growled, glaring at the woman who was responsible for most of my childhood trauma, and my darkest memories I hadn't told anyone about, not even Dad. If I could kill her without Batman eventually finding out about it… I'd do it immediately. Unfortunately, even I can't outsmart the worlds greatest detective.

She snorted, "I knew he damaged you, but I had no idea how much he had. What has he told you to get you to love him so much? That he loves you? Please, you know that's a lie."

I looked up at her, "It's not the fact he told me, it's the fact he showed me he loves me. He's gone out of his way to make my life better, put his neck on the chopping block for me, and displayed over an over again how much he cares. Love is something some one like you will never really understand." I stood up, looking at Talia, "If that's all, I'm really quite tired. I haven't slept in thirty six hours, and I'd really like to go to sleep."

She nodded, "You may leave."

I turned away, walking out the door, and down the hall, following the guard to my room. I entered, to find Gabriel sleeping on one queen sized bed, and I crawled into the other. Competition started tomorrow, and I intended to give 'em hell.


	33. The Tournament Begins

The next morning, I woke up, and threw myself at the ground next to my bed, falling into push ups automatically. I did one hundred, and then flipped over, doing the same amount of sit ups.

Gabriel woke up a little latter, to see me doing a split, trying to stretch as far as possible. He stared at me, and I raised an eyebrow, "What?"

He looked away quickly, "Nothing, just admiring your skills."

I was a bit irked by that, but let it slide, stretching some more, before I jumped up, and grabbed my clothes, changing in the bathroom, and walked out decked out in my Black Hood gear, a few more guns than normal.

He got up, wearing only boxers, and walked over to his duffel bag, pulling out his costume, "I told you not to bring that."

He smirked, and muttered something in Hebrew, and the white costume turned navy blue. "Better princess?" He asked.

I glared at him, "You're lucky I can't beat the crap out of you today."

He pulled the tight pants over his boxers, and I watched as he stretched both arms over his head, struggling into his shirt. Every little muscle was very easily seen. Noticing what I was doing, I turned away, busying myself with checking the barrel of one of my guns.

"What do we do now?" He asked.

"Just wait for-" there was a knock at the door. "That." I finished.

I walked over to the door, Gabriel behind me, and opened it. A ninja stood there, and he turned, beckoning for us to follow.

We did, and he led us into a room, filled with other kids. Some of them were a few years older than me, one was at least nineteen. The youngest looked to be about Damian's age, but she was a girl. I could recognize a few from my joke of a childhood.

I walked through the crowd, some were talking quietly amongst themselves, others keeping to themselves. Some saw me, and stared at me. My reputation as being the only one to escape, apparently had spread like wildfire. I wasn't just 'the kid who got away' I was 'the Todd that got away'. Every one had to know about _that _by now.

Must have been hard to believe, the scared, scrawny little kid who didn't even look at anyone, turning out to be the baddest girl in Gotham now days. They hadn't seen me slowly change over the years, all they saw now was the fifteen year old who walked confidently through a room filled with assassins with no fear showing at all. I smirked, and I felt people shift, no doubt the ones who had actually seen my father do that before, had just seen his face flash across mine. Some things about having him as a Dad were good, this for example.

I walked to the end of the room, where a table was set up, a man behind it, taking every one's names down. I walked right up to it, and the man looked up at me, eyes widening.

"Justine Todd." I announced a little loudly, I heard whispers through out the crowd behind me. "Mentor: Jason Todd. Guest: Gabriel."

I watched him write it down, and turned away, seeing every pair of eyes in the room on me. I nearly groaned, but I suppressed it.

"You always this popular?' Gabriel asked.

"No." I mumbled.

I glared at them all, and rested my hand on one of my gun handles. A few turned away, others held my gaze for a moment, but a well placed Bat-glare sent them away. There was one set of eyes that stood apart form the others. A pair of blue eyes looking right at me. She refused to back down form my glare. I removed my hand from my gun, and slowly walked over to her. Every one held their breath, would I fight her simply for not looking away from me?

Honey brown hair, blue eyes, tan skin, freckles dusting her nose. Her ear lobe was attached to her ear, instead of hanging loose, like most. I got loser, my gaze not changing.

Finally, we were eye to eye, staring each other down. I slowly extended my hand. "Justin Todd."

She slowly took it, shacking it once, "Dawn Rivington."

"Pleasure." I said, my trade mark smirk playing on my lips.

"Honor." She returned, letting my hand drop, and a small smile wiggling onto her stiff lips.

"Nice to meet some one who has a back bone." I said, crossing my arms and relaxing a little.

She noticed, and relaxed also. She had been expecting a fight, but I wasn't in the mood. "Likewise."

"So, who trained you?" I asked.

"White Ghost." She said. Yeah, that sure rang a bell. Ra's Al Ghul's right hand man.

"Cool." I said, "I'll be looking foreword to fighting you then."

"And I you." She said, nodding to me. I walked back over to Gabriel, to see him looking into the crowd, just looking at random people.

"Stop it." I ordered.

"What?" He asked.

"No eye contact, unless you're looking for a fight." I said.

"Is everyone here that willing to go into an all out death match?" He asked. "I mean, I knew you were, but everyone?"

"Where do you think I learned it from?" I questioned, then sighed, dragging him into a corner, "Look, let me explain this to you thoroughly. This place is dangerous. If you look a girl who happens to have a boyfriend who sees you looking at her, he'll glare at you. If you look at him, and you don't turn away, he'll kill you. If you hold some one's gaze for too long, they'll kill you. If you insult some one, not with words, not with facial expressions, maybe just by looking at them in a way you don't think is disrespectful, but they really think it's disrespectful, they'll kill you. And I'll be honest, I'll let them do it 'cause I gave you a fair warning."

He raised an eyebrow, "OK, so who do I not look at?"

"Anyone stronger than you." I said, "Now, normally the differences in strength are quite obvious, that girl I talked to, don't look at her. Ever. The people who looked away from me instantly, you can look at 'em, 'cause they're cowards. Any one other than that, you should probably gouge your eyes out instead of look at them."

"Got it." He said.

"And remember, if they don't talk to you, you don't talk to them." I said.

"But you talked to that girl-"

"I'm an assassin, you aren't. Play it safe, or I will get very difficult to live with." I threatened.

"So… you mean this whole time I've known you, I've been dealing with the happy peace loving Justin?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes." I said, meaning every word of it.

"You got it, don't look at anyone, don't talk to anyone, don't be stupid." He said, giving me a thumbs up.

Suddenly, the screen on the wall behind the desk lit up, and Talia's face appeared on it. She was in her office. "Attention all contestants, the Tournament of Assassins has now begun."

_From this point on, no turning back._ I thought. _This isn't like Gotham, everyone here is either just below, or at my level. Maybe even above my level._

Talia continued, "The others you see around you are your competitors, rivals, partners, manipulates, and maybe even your friends."

My eyes scanned the crowd, I saw slight twitches, signs of stress and hatred. _Everyone's on edge, and they're going to be easy to push to the boiling point._

"While some of you might be thinking you're here to show off, test your skills and show off a little, you're dead wrong." She said. "The main purpose of this tournament is quite simple."

_While everyone being on edge around here can be a good tool to use against them, it's also a hindrance to me, they'll be more alert. Not only that, but Gabriel will be next to useless if it gets too intense._ I quickly ran the numbers. _He's a great fighter, but other than that I have no idea what levels his skills are on. He has no idea how to behave, how to act, and I doubt the church taught him how to lie properly, isn't that on of their rules? Thou shalt not kill or something?_

"The purpose of this tournament is clear," Her eyes narrowed on the screen, "To weed out the weak and useless and eliminate them. Only the best will win, and the others will perish. _Sadly_, due to rules, at least half of you will die. Until we get that outcome, we'll keep adding preliminaries to be sure the proper amount dies."

_Perfect, so in other words, there are exactly fifty teams here, that was how many were on the sign up sheet, and since there's two people on each little team, that's one hundred people._

"Those who die, it's your own fault for not being strong enough. Those who will win, my congratulations will be given to you, along with the removal of your title 'apprentice' and besotting of the title 'assassin'. No mercy shall be given. I would wish the best of luck to all of you, but if you need luck to survive, you shouldn't be here." The screen went blank.

_In other words, she doesn't care about any of us. Back to strategizing. So, if I take every team here, and kill at least one of them myself, that's 49 people I've killed. If no one else kills anybody, I might be forced to kill Gabriel myself to avoid going into another test where I might die. Sorry Gabriel, but I'm not dying for you. I'd kill Conan if I had to, and I like her. I don't even know you._

The man behind the desk cleared his throat, standing up. "Well then, if you'll all follow me, I'll direct you to the first test."

Little be little, we all filed out of the room, following him. He led us outside, and stopped at the woods. He turned to us, "Alright listen up, inside this woods are three hundred acres of woods, filled with wolves, bears, wolverines, swamps, cliffs, and over fifty species of poisonous creatures. Not only that, but we took the liberty of making certain there were alligators in nearly every area of water, and wild hogs in nearly every peaceful looking area. Most of the animals we filled this hell hole with aren't even native to this area."

"Sounds like my summer vacation spot." I whispered to Gabriel. He chuckled, shacking his head.

"Not only that, but you'll all have to deal with each other too." The man smirked, "All of you alone in the woods together is the perfect opportunity to eliminate the competition. You can bet your life on that. What you shouldn't bet your life on is getting out of here alive, actually, you already are."

"Nice one." I mumbled sarcastically.

"You'll all be in there for a week total. Anyone who comes out of there before that will be executed immediately. Anyone who doesn't show up after the week is over, you're presumed dead. Were not going to bother trying to find your body, so don't count on having a funeral." He said.

He stared at all of us for a moment, "Well, first one to get out without a major injury like a broken bone, or a missing body part gets a full three days rest with the best medical care, food, and other treatment we had to offer."

I raised my hand, "Scuse me, sir! Is a stab wound, whether it severs a muscle or not, considered major?"

"Long as you're not bleeding to death, no." He said. "And since you piped up, how about you and whoever's unfortunate enough to be your partner go in first?"

"Awesome!" I said, jogging to the front with Gabriel right behind me. I gave the guy a quick two fingered salute, "Thanks a lot Major Tom."

"What?" He asked.

"American joke, think nothing of it." I said, and took off into the forest, Gabriel running to catch up with me.


	34. I Don't Know

"Are you crazy?" Asked Gabriel as he struggled to keep up with me. "I thought you said not to draw attention to ourselves."

"Yeah." I said, running as fast as I could. "There's a trick to that though, I drew attention in a good way. You drew attention in a bad way."

"How is that good?" He asked. "It looked bad to me!"

I slowed down a little, letting him catch up. "Pay close attention, I made it seem like a bad way, but then they'll assume it was bad, and regard us as completely weak and idiotic, easy to be eliminated, that way, most people will look at us as the first people to kill."

"HOW IS THAT GOOD?"

"Because, the stupid ones will not hesitate to attack us, and thinking us weak, they will be sloppy, making it easy to tell where they are, and kill them before they kill us." I said. "The smart ones, that'll be a bit trickier, but at least I know I'll survive."

He run faster, now neck and neck with me. "Ok first of all, you better not let me die, or I swear I will haunt your dreams for the rest of your life. You will not get five minutes of sleep without hearing a Bible verse. Second of all, did you just say we're gonna kill them?"

"Well, since there's camera's everywhere, no." I said, shrugging. "Now, I'll be happy to discuss my plans with you later, but for now, we need to focus on running, and getting as far into the forest as we can. If we go far enough, we'll be to far for them to get to us at first, since he'll probably keep they waiting for a few minutes, or at least send the teams in one at a time. That way it's trickier to target people, if they all headed in at once, it would be easy to kill them before they were five feet in."

He nodded, "Got it, less talk, more run."

JASON'S POINT OF VEIW:

I shook my head at Justin's reasoning, she shouldn't be running away, she should be setting up a base, a safe area where she and Gabriel could rest, set up an area filled with traps. All she seemed concerned about was self preservation, which I was thankful for, but it was unusual for her.

Bruce suddenly spoke up from his spot on the couch, we had managed to broadcast it from the bat computer to the flat screen TV in the living room, and everyone was crowded around, watching intently. "She's worried about the boy."

Dick turned to him, "Gabriel?"

Damian scoffed, "You see another boy running beside her?"

Tim rolled his eyes, "Give it a rest Damian."

Kim shrugged, "He might be at her level concerning fighting, maybe even more, but in his other skills, well, for all we know, they're nonexistent. For example, I can hear his footsteps much clearer than Justin's, and the way he runs, he's wasting energy by moving his arms to much. He's good, but not as good as he could be."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "He was the best one she could get, and he's still holding her back."

"And my mother knew that." Damian spoke up. Everyone turned to him, he shrugged, "She knew there was no one in Gotham City Justin's age who could match her skills enough to not be a liability."

"It's not the fact that he's a liability that shocks me." Tim said, "It's like Bruce said, she's worried about him. If she didn't care about him on some level, right now would be the perfect time to ditch him and leave him to whoever stumbled across him. She doesn't need him anymore, she's already in the contest. The fact she hasn't yet, and even more so the fact she's actually slowing down to make sure he keeps up, surprises me."

"She's not heartless." Damian snorted.

"Well that's debatable." Tim argued, and everyone glared at him, even Bruce. "I'm talking in the right circumstances."

I turned back to the screen, glaring harder. _Come on Justin, be smart here, be smart, not a hero. I don't care if you have to kill a few people, just get home safe, please._

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I stood, walking around the small clearing we were resting in. Gabriel was sitting down, drinking from a small water bottle. I raised an eyebrow at him, "Where did you get that?"

He shrugged, "It's holy water, we all have a small bottle on us."

I raised an eyebrow, "Does that stuff even work?"

"On possessed people, witches, demons, and according to legend, vampires." he said, shrugging.

I raised an eyebrow, "Vampires?"

"Yeah, in one of the old history books, it says that a single vampire entered our world, and they created an army with it's bite, which held the fury of hell in it. We won the war that followed of course." he said, shrugging.

"When was this?" I asked.

"Around the 17 hundreds." He said, shrugging.

"But… that wasn't that far back, wouldn't we have known about that?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Nope, the church is really good at keeping things on the down low, none of the non church members knew what was going on. Most of the fighting took place in Rome, underground in catacombs."

"Rome?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "That's stereotypical."

He glared at me, "Well sorry, I didn't tell the vampires to emerge from where ever they came form and kill off half of our church members."

I paused, and them frowned, "You talk like you actually knew them, like you actually loved them and grieved for them at the time."

"At the time, no. Grieved, also no. Knew them, unfortunately not. Loved them, you can bet your life on that." he said, putting the bottle away. "Just because I didn't know them, doesn't mean I don't love them."

"That makes no since!" I complained, "None of you make since! You all talk about loving everyone, and even blessing your enemies, but you don't!"

"I do." He said. "I found myself praying for Talia last night, asking God to forgive her for everything she's done, including what she's done to you. When ever some one on the street shoots me, or cuts me, I beg God to forgive them, to not hold it against them when He judges them."

I glared at him, "You know, the Bible also says that revenge is His, that means that when you try to get revenge, your stealing from Him."

"True." He said, smiling and looking at me like he was telling a five year old the sky was indeed blue.

"But you fight crime, you get revenge, you pursue justice!" I said, smirking, thinking I had him.

"That would be condemning, but I'm not after revenge, for me or anyone else. I stop them, and leave it to the authorities to judge them for now, and to God to judge them when He decides it's time."

"But it's good to get revenge!" I persisted.

"No, it isn't." He said, shacking his head. "God will get revenge for whomever needs it. Those who seek revenge themselves are not only steeling from God, but hardly doing any good. God's revenge is ultimate, God's revenge is by far the worst revenge in existence. No matter how hard you hurt a person, not matter how much physical, mental, or emotional pain you inflict, you can't being to reach the amount God could have, if you had just left it to him."

"I beg to differ." I spat out, "I can hurt you in so many ways right now, I can torture you until you're literally begging me for death, and beyond that, you don't even know what I can do." I said, holding up my right fist next to my cheek as I leaned against a tree. "So how can you tell me that He can do far worse than me, when you don't even know what I can do?"

"Because, the Bible says so." He said, shrugging, "I believe everything that the Bible says, so I'll believe that too."

"That's the worst answer you could ever say!" I cried out, exasperated, "You just believe everything that comes out of an old book that means nothing!"

"You died." He said, and those two words cut through every word I had said.

My eyes widened, "I never told you that."

He nodded, "You never did."

"How do you know?" I said, each word getting louder, "Hardly anyone knows that, and those who do are either my family, my best friend, or a freaking sidekick I never wanted!"

"Keep it down, people will hear us." He said, and then shrugged, "God tells me a lot of things. That was one of them."

I snorted, "God talks to you?" He nodded, "You talk to God? How? On your phone?"

"First of all, I don't have a phone, second of all, no, I hear him in my head." He said.

"Let me get this straight, you hear God's voice?" I said. He nodded, looking like he knew where this was going, and had been there time and time again. "Inside your head?" Again, he nodded. "All the proves is your insane." I chuckled.

"What did you see when you died?" He asked.

I froze, "Why would you want to know?"

"You're trying to prove me wrong, so I'm trying to prove me right." He said, "What did you see?"

"Why don't you ask the God-like voice in your head!" I snapped.

"So you did see something." He said, smiling a little.

"Shut up!" I snapped, and then paused for a moment, listening.

He shook his head "You can either tell me now or-"

My head suddenly snapped to him, and I dash towards him full throttle, literally as fast as I could go, "GET DOWN!" I tackled him off the log, and then heard a **thunk **as the knife intended for his head hit the side of it. I immediately yanked him up by his costume's collar and shoved him behind a wide tree, then ducking behind one next to him.

"How did you see that-"

"Not now!" I shouted, and took out a gun, then looking over my shoulder, trying to see. A knife whizzed towards me, and I ducked behind the tree again, the knife scratching the corner of my left eye slightly.

I cursed, and the rummaged around for something on my jacket. "Come on, come on, come one." I begged, and then yanked it out, and snapped it on the end of my gun. A side mirror. I adjusted it, and then angled it so I could look behind the tree.

"What's that-" Gabriel asked.

"Shut up and get your weapons out already!" I hissed, and he took out the two mini crucifixes.

I squinted, trying to see through the tree line where the knives were coming from, but I couldn't reach the angle I needed to see behind the tree.

I growled, and turned to Gabriel, and then saw his crucifixes, they were long enough. "Hey, toss me one of those."

He did so, and I snapped the mirror on the end of that. I pushed it out to the right angle, and then snickered, they were each outside of the tree line now, walking towards our area of cover slowly, each wielding two throwing knives. I tossed it over to Gabriel, 'Take a look' I mouthed.

He looked, and then tossed the mirror back, keeping his crucifix. I held up three fingers, and he nodded. Slowly, one by one, I took each finger down. At the last one, we both jumped out, charging at them. I quickly shot a knife out of my guy's hand, and dodged the one he threw at me. He grabbed the hand I had shot in pain, and I quickly jumped into the air above him, sticking one leg out stiffly, and building up all the force I could in my heel, and then bringing it down promptly on his nose.

It shattered, and I tried to punch him, but he blocked, and took out a knife with his good hand, trying to slice my neck open. I jumped back, trying to grab the knife but he just cut my hand easily.

I yanked it back, not wanting any damage done to major muscles, and dodged several attacks from his knife. As soon as I saw my chance, I kicked the knife out of his hand. He grabbed my foot, and yanked me towards him. I twisted out of the way of the knife so he wouldn't strike my heart, but he made a pretty deep cut on my shoulder.

I quickly grabbed the hand that was holding my foot, the one I had shot, and broke the wrist immediately. He grunted, and I twisted it more out of place, getting my foot free and spinning out of the way of the knife. I got behind him, and yanked his arm up to high, dislocating the shoulder.

He suppressed a scream, and fell to his knees. I touched the end of my gun to the back of his skull and he shivered, knowing he was about to die.

Gabriel watched me, having already knocked out his assassin with a blow to the head from his crucifix. "You wouldn't really…"

JASON'S POINT OF VEIW:

We were all silent, watching as she held his life in her hands, not knowing what to do. The Boy spoke up, "You wouldn't really…"

_Oh trust me kid, she really would._ I thought, remembering all the times I had seen Justin kill. I had taught her to kill, trained her to do it in completely brutal ways.

She hesitated, not knowing what to do. Kim paled, her eyes widening, I knew she was pleading Justin not to do it, hoping she wouldn't.

Kenya's eyes widened too, and I grabbed her quickly, pulling her into my chest so she wouldn't see, and trying to cover her ears.

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I tightened my grip on the gun, and brought the butt of it down like a knife on the back of his neck, and he fell limp.

Gabriel look at me, "What do we do with them?" I froze, looking around, and then back to the bodies in front of me.

"I…" I paused, what do I do? I can't leave them here, they'll be as good as dead when the first assassin stumbles into the clearing, or the first pack of wolves that come along. "I… um…" I looked up at him, an odd feeling coming over me. "I don't know."


	35. So who's this Talia chick?

"What do you mean you don't know?" He asked, "Just do whatever you bat people do in Gotham."

"This isn't Gotham." I said, staring at the boy passed out underneath me. "If we leave him here he's dead. Can't take him with us, he'll just kill us whenever he gets the chance." I sighed, looking around, "The only merciful and logical thing I can think to do is kill them."

"No!" He protested.

"Well what do you suggest?" I asked, exasperated.

He looked at them, frowning. "The only thing to do is leave them here and hope for the best."

I sighed, and nodded, "Yeah, I guess so."

We left them there, and walked on, trying to make up for lost time. I would have run, but my heart wasn't really in this anymore.

KENYA'S POINT OF VEIW:

"Ya!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down, "You go Justin! You kicked their butts!"

Damian rolled his eyes, "Tt, juvenile."

I stuck my tongue out at him, "You're just jealous that Justin got to go to Russia and beat up assassins and you didn't!"

"Neither did you bunny freak!" Damian accused.

I snatched up Jabberwocky, and glared at Damian, "Bunnies are nice. You aren't."

He snorted, "Yeah, well your little role model made six mistakes in that attack, and I can't wait until she gets back to rub that in her face, and any other slip ups she has."

Bruce suddenly spoke up, "Damian, she did not make six mistakes."

Every one was silent, wonder which one Damian had counted as a mistake that hadn't been.

"She made seven."

Damian's face broke into a smirk, "Oh this is just to good."

Suddenly, Alfred walked in, "Master Bruce, there are some friends of Justin's on the phone, asking how she's doing."

Bruce took out his phone, "I'm e-mailing them the code to watch Justin fight."

"She's not wearing her mask, make sure only the ones who know who she is see it." Daddy said, and then grabbed me, pulling me onto his lap, "Come on, leave Damian alone and we can root for Justin."

Alfred placed a bowl of popcorn on the table, "Well then seeing as her friends will be quite relived, I think I shall relive their worry."

Tim suddenly spoke up, "Justin has friends?"

KYLER'S POINT OF VEIW:

"OK, Batman gave me the link to see how she's doing, and e-mailed me some clips of what she's already done." I said, quickly setting everything up.

Conan spoke up, "So who's this Talia chick?"

"Wow, where have you been?" I asked, "Talia is the daughter of Ras Ah Ghul."

"And he would be…?" Raphael asked, walking in with a bag of chips and a bowl of salsa.

"The leader of the league of assassins." I said, "Any of this ringing a bell?"

"Nope, but the assassin thing sounds cool." He said.

"Oh boy." Kyler said, sighing. She didn't really like Raphael, in fact she kind of hated him. He constantly made fun of her for using the Speedy costume and name, instead of making a new alias. He made fun of Conan's alias too, a lot. He constantly reminded her she wasn't human, and loved to tick her off. He even openly put Snow down in front of other team mates and civilians because of her lack of knowledge of the present time.

"To put it bluntly, Ras is the devil, making Talia the spawn of the devil." Kyler said.

"So how does she know Justin?" Raphael asked, shoving his face with chips and salsa.

"Oh, she kidnapped Justin when she was about two years old, she grew up in the League of Assassins." I answered.

Snow raised an eyebrow at me, "Justin told you that?"

"Justin tells me everything." I said, and pressed enter on the computer. Immediately, a screen popped up with Justin on it, walking through the woods with Gabriel.

"Twilight moment." Conan mumbled.

"You actually saw that movie?" Raphael asked.

Conan shrugged, "I was going through a phase."

"Loser." He snickered, shoving a salsa loaded chip into his mouth and munching down on it.

After a few minutes of watching, Mary and Michael came by, wanting to know how Gabriel was doing. They join the camp out in front of the computer, and everyone was silent other than Michael and Raphael occasionally making jokes.

Michael took a chip from Raphael, dipped it in the salsa and took a bite. Immediately he ran for the kitchen screaming something in Hebrew.

Everyone watched in amusement as he chugged down the first liquid he could touch, the gallon of milk on the counter.

Kyler turned to Mary, "What did he say?"

She shrugged, "Something about asking God why He hated him and why would He curse him by putting the flames of Hell down his throat."

Conan suddenly called out, "Michael, that's milk went bad two weeks ago."

There was a pause and more Hebrew was screamed.

Raphael turned to Mary, "What about that?"

Mary shook her head, "I'm not translating that."

Conan looked at Raphael's food with a raised eyebrow, "Is it that hot?"

Raphael scarfed down another salsa coated chip, "I'm a pyrokinetik, they can't make food hot enough for me."

Kyler suddenly piped up, "I hear kryptonian's have immunity to intense heat and flames. It might not affect Conan as much as you."

Conan smirked, taking one and doing what Raphael had just done. Her eyes widened, and she grunted, running for the kitchen too.

Kyler smirked, "I lied."

Raphael shook his head, "I used to ask myself why you were ever friends with Justin; now I know why."

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

We walked for awhile until I got the great idea of hopping tree branches. Grappling lines worked good on tree branches, as long as you didn't swing right smack into another tree while swinging.

We carefully set up camp, no tent, and very, very small fire that wouldn't attract anybody. Fortunately I found some slugs under a rock near the river and a few handfuls of fungus and mushrooms, all of which were edible.

The slugs were easy to cook, and if you stuffed them into the mushrooms instead of eating them plain, it took away a lot of the bad flavor, and the general thought of slurping down slugs.

I ate quickly, and washed down the horrible taste with water I had managed to gather from the river without attracting the attention of a crocodile.

Gabriel managed to eat the mushrooms and fungus, but he couldn't stomach the slugs. I took them from him, scarfing them down, "Go find yourself some meal worms." I told him, "They taste a lot better."

"Or how about a hog?" He asked, "Or a deer, maybe something with actual meat? Maybe some fruit or vegetable that I'm sure are growing around here somewhere, we are in a forest."

I stared at him, "You have never left Gotham have you?"

"No, and I have never been more then five miles away from a decent hamburger." He said.

I sighed, "Look, the best food you can get out here is usually fish, and I'm not going to any body of water in this forest unless I have to. Do you have any idea how many alligators I saw in the river? Even worse, I saw at least half a dozen alligator nest around, they'll be even more deadly with eggs to protect."

"What about eggs?' He asked, "There must be a birds nest around here somewhere."

"That attracts to much attention, especially if the bird catches us." I pointed out.

"But the food-"

"Is not worth the risk." I said firmly, "Why can't you just trust me when I tell you that this is the best we can afford to eat right now?"

"Why can't you just trust me when I tell you that God exists, and you need to convert and repent to save yourself?" He asked.

"Because, me and my soul are doing just fine on our own, thank you very much." I said, "Secondly, if you keep it up with all this God stuff, I swear to whatever form of God this Earth has that I will take that little rosary around your neck and strangle you with it." I growled out.

He shrugged, "Where do we sleep?"

I snorted, "Your sleeping first, when I get to tired, I'll wake you up and then I'll sleep while you keep watch and so on until morning."

He paused, "Yeah, but _**where **_do we sleep?"

"Right where your sitting city boy." I said, "Now go to sleep."

He reluctantly turned over, and eventually fell asleep. I sat up for a long time, just listening to the sounds I had missed so much after going to Gotham. Owls, hooting once or twice before they flew silently and snatched up an unfortunate mouse. Mama bears, far off in the distance, calling their cubs to bed.

I pushed my vest off my shoulders, wincing at the pain from the one that had been cut. He had cut my shoulder, my left hand, and the skin right next to my right eye. I wasn't worried about the one on the side of my eye, or the one on my hand. Those were shallow, this one was deeper. The red tee shirt under my leather vest was redder then normal. I was used to wounds like this, they hurt and they bleed a good bit, but if taken proper care of they'd vanish in a few weeks. But for that, I needed a needle, string, and iodine to do a rough job.

I touched it lightly, trying to crane my neck to see the wound, and sucked a breath in through my teeth slowly.

Suddenly, warm fingers slid onto my cold ones. I jerked my head to look at Gabriel. His eyes looked up from the wound to my face, "Why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged, and then winced slightly, "Not my style."

He flicked the wound, and I yelped, and then punched him in the face, "What was that for?"

"For being stupid and not telling me, letting it bleed this much." He retorted, not phased by the punch.

He grabbed the wound again, and carefully inspected it, and then pulled out a small plastic container from his pants pocket. He opened it, revealing a small needle and thread. "I don't have anything to numb the area, sorry." He mumbled.

"Any iodine?" I asked.

"We usually use holy water for that." He said, looking sheepish.

"You drank a valuable liquid that could be used as a disinfectant?" I asked, glaring at him.

He shrugged, "I was thirsty."

"Idiot." I mumbled, just as he shoved the needle into my shoulder.

I gasped, and punched him harshly, making him stumble back. "Shove off!" I hissed, and took the needle, and carefully stitched up the wound with one hand.

After I was done I looked up at him, "Have you every patched a wound up before?"

"Holy water can heal any wound, so I never had to learn." He mumbled.

I froze, "You drank a bottle of what was basically Lazarus pit water?"

"What's the Lazarus pit?" He asked.

"Forget it." I mumbled, turning away, and yanking my vest back on, then zipping it up. He sighed, curling back into a ball and trying to sleep.

DAMIAN'S POINT OF VEIW:

"This boy is an utter idiot, no wonder Justin speaks so little of him." I said flatly.

Dick laughed, "This is better than cable!"

Kenya jumped up onto the coffee table, clutching her stuffed bunny. "Go Justin! Kick some assassin butt!"

"That's right." Jason said, smirking.

"Kenya, get off the table please." Kim said. Kim was odd, she said something where the words would be considered weak suggestions, but the tone and her eyes spoke for themselves, when she asked something, you either needed to do it, or start on your bucket list.

I wasn't afraid of her of course, she wasn't my mother, and she hardly ever told me to do anything.

AT DR:

Michael laughed, leaning on Raphael to keep from falling backwards, "I think I'm in love!" he spat out.

"What?" Raphael asked, glaring at him.

"Yeah, what?" Asked Mary.

"Dudes, this chick is awesome!" Michael explained, "Not only is she a totally hard core assassin, which is sexy in itself, she's totally hot."

Raphael shrugged, "I guess."

"Guess? Are you blind or something? She's got a nice rack, nice butt, shoulders aren't to girly or to broad, her leg's aren't to feminine, and a bit to tall for my taste, but other than that, I'd totally go ut with her." He said, sighing dreamily.

Raphael's grip on his potato chip bag tightened, and Michael continued, "I mean her eyes are just… so blue, and she's a red head! If that isn't hot, I have no idea what is."

Raphael gripped the chip bag until his knuckles were as white as chalk.

Mary rolled her eyes, "You like every girl you see with blue eyes." She turned to Kyler, "He has a thing for blue eyes."

Conan stiffened, and Kyler noticed, laughing a good bit before saying, "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure the whole 'alien' thing is a turn off."

Raphael suddenly stood up, and dropped his stuff, walking out of the computer room.

No one followed him to try and find out what was wrong, because nobody cared. They all hated him, or didn't know him. No one snuck out with him, no one watched him as he went into the training room and practically threw himself at the punching bag, wailing on it like there was no tomorrow.

No one was there to tell him to take it out on a rapist or mugger. No one offered to take him on patrol so he could. No one even told him to suck it up and be a man. Or better yet "Stop being hormonal and grow a pair hot shot."

After his knuckles were raw and he didn't have the energy to be angry anymore, he slid down against the wall, he wished some one would call him stupid for not wearing gloves, and above all, some one who _wouldn't _tell him they were proud because he had not burned the punching bag to ashes again.

He never thought he could miss some one he had hated.


	36. Why Are You Helping Me?

Getting food here was tricky, the best food would be obtained by hunting or fishing, but fishing was to dangerous, and hunting was to noisy, usually. Gabriel had never been in this situation before, and I knew the hunger and aching taste buds were worse for him than me. If he kept going like this, he would get weak, and sloppy. I had to find him something to eat.

He barley had the strength to walk around and get small portions of food. There had been several more fights from other kids in the woods, and the ending result had me with a few more flesh wounds Gabriel had promptly stitched up (he was getting better at that now that I had taught him) and Gabriel had a badly twisted ankle.

I made him sit down under a tree at camp, and had his foot propped up, and made sure he had a good amount of water and left him a gun before leaving in search of decent food.

I only made it a few miles away until I walked into a clearing, and saw a buck in the middle of it. I took out a small hand gun, and took careful aim, he was to far away. I took three steps foreword, and felt something suddenly tighten around my ankle, and yank me into the air. I stopped suddenly, and hung there, I had stumbled into a trap. I looked down at the ground where I had been standing, to see what would have happened if I had taken four steps foreword instead of three. A small pit, with knives planted at the bottom. A death trap.

I shuddered, I don't think I would have made it out of that one. I turned my attention to the rope, it was frail enough to cut, but I would have to make sure to land in a safe spot.

I looked down, trying to look for angles to fall in order to land safely, but found none. Great. Just great.

I took a deep breath, and leaned foreword as far as I could go, then backwards. I did that a few times, and pretty soon I was swinging back and forth, getting a little closer to the tree each time I swung backwards.

Finally, I grasped the thickest branch I could, and pulled myself closer, straining against the rope. I let go with one hand, trying to reach my knife. My fingers brushed the handle, and it slipped from the holster. I made a mad grab for it, and caught it. I paused, taking a deep breath. This was no time to get flustered and sloppy.

The sooner I got the done, the better. Whoever set this trap was probably nearby. I brought the knife to my face, and used my teeth to open it. My hand holding the branch was starting to slip, and I couldn't hold it for much longer. I pulled my leg towards me, trying to pull it against the rope so I could reach it with the knife.

I reached as far as I could, trying to cut the rope. My hand slipped a little, and grunted. I couldn't reach it. I looked up to where the rope was tied, and flipped my knife around, grabbing the blade end. I threw it at the knot, and it sliced through. I yanked as hard as I could, and the rope unwound, leaving me dangling from the tree by one hand.

I slid down, and looked around, and promptly stepped out of the was of an arrow. It buried itself into the bark of the tree. I looked where it had come from, frowning. A figure stepped out from behind a tree across from me, it was that girl from earlier, I forget her name.

She frowned at me, he bow already loaded. It was different than Kyler's bow, it was wooden, and very thick. I imagine that even Kyler would have a very difficult time pulling it back, it looked like it took a lot of strength to even pull it back a few inches.

I stood still, getting into a fighting stance that could attack or defend, whichever I needed to do right now. She pulled the string back, and I was right, it took a lot of muscle to do that.

She let it go, and I cart wheeled to the side, flipping out of the way, and throwing one of my throwing knives at her, and then flipping backwards, avoiding another arrow. I jumped up into the tree as she fired another arrow, and pulled out my gun. I jumped out form behind the limb I was crouched behind, and ran along another on, shooting at her as she shot at me.

We were constantly moving, dodging the other's attacks while firing our own. Funny, I had never taken her as some one who used a bow and arrow, she just didn't have the build, and she hadn't been carrying one when I saw her before the tournament began… it was to big for her to have hidden in her outfit, trust me, I am an expert at hiding things in my clothes. I tried to hide a fire cracker in my leather vest once, but I had put it two close to the matches, and it had exploded on my back… got a pretty nasty scar that day.

Suddenly, she cried out, my bullet had pierced her stomach, the same time her arrow shot into my right thigh. I fell to the ground, behind a log, and grabbed the arrow, took a deep breath, and ripped it out. I grunted, low and long, and then ripped the bottom hem off of my shirt, and then wrapped it around the wound on my leg.

I heard short gasps and grunts from the other side of the log. I slowly looked up, to see her leaning against the tree, fingers desperately trying to dig the bullet out of her stomach. My eyes widened, if she didn't get the bullet out soon and the wound stitched up pronto, she could easily bleed to death.

I jumped out from the log, rushing over to her. She of course took my approach the wrong way, and pulled out her bow and arrow. I immediately took my gun and shot the bow out of her hand. She jumped up as I got closer and tried to punch me, but I ducked under her fist and got behind her, driving my elbow into one of the pressure points on her lower spine.

She fell limp, and I caught her, and threw her over my shoulder in the fireman's carry, running with her as fast as I could.

"You gotta cut down on the snacks girl." I mumbled, trying not to trip.

JASON'S POINT OF VEIW:

"What is she doing?" I asked myself, but everyone heard.

"Taking her someplace where there are no cameras so she can kill her." Damian piped up.

Tim shook his head, "She's obviously trying to hide her somewhere that she'll be safe until she wakes up, she won't kill her unless she really has to."

Both of those explanations seemed to fit, but I really hoped it was the first, she needed to be smart about this. _Just shoot her while she's unconscious, or cut her up some more and throw her in the nearest lake, the alligators will make short work of her._ I thought mentally.

Dick sighed, "No, she's going to stitch her up."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"She shot her in the stomach. Am I the only one who noticed where she shot her? If she doesn't get that taken care of, she'll die."

"So?" I asked, pretending not to notice Bruce glaring at me. "This is life or death, not a Gotham street corner."

No one answered, because no one had to, we were all thinking the same thing, that if she did kill, we couldn't really blame her.

AT DR:

"Ten bucks says beauty queen's dead by morning." Conan piped up.

Kyler glared at her.

"What?" Conan asked innocently. "Justin's gonna kill her anyways. Why not try to make some money of off this?"

Kyler just shook her head, embarrassed at Conan's behavior.

Michael popped up, "Ten bucks says Gabriel gets mouth to mouth at one point during this tournament."

Raphael gave him a withering glare, "Ten bucks says Gabriel dies."

JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:

I can't say I expected him to be thrilled about it.

"YOU WANT ME TO SAVE HER?" He asked, thinking I was crazy.

"If we don't stitch her up, she'll die." I said, glaring at him, making him flinch a little. "If you won't do it, I will. I thought this could help you learn to bandage up stomach wounds, but if you aren't interested, fine."

I snatched the needle and thread, and carefully used two thin sticks to dig out the bullet. I tossed it over my shoulder. If it wasn't damaged, I'd clean it off and use it again later.

I carefully stitched up the wound, pulling the stitches tighter than normal ones, the way Alfred had taught me a few months back. They healed quicker that way, and were less likely to leave scars.

After that was done, I wrapped it up, and then tied her hands behind her back, and then tied her ankles together. When she woke up, I did not want her to be able to attack us easily. Actually, I didn't want her to be able to attack us at all.

Gabriel shook his head, "She's gonna kill us."

"She's not gonna kill us." I countered.

"Yes she will."

"No she wont."

"Yes she will."

"No She wont."

"Yes she will." He said with a tone that suggested finality.

"No she won't." I said, "I have two little siblings Gabriel, I can keep this up all day and not get bored."

He growled, "Tt, like I care."

I could help but smirk, "Somewhere, Robin is glaring up something fierce."

By the time she started coming to, it was already dark out, maybe I shouldn't have hit her that hard…

The minute she was awake, she jumped up, and then fell flat on her face, the ropes tripping her up.

"Relax." I said, walking over to her. "I just stitched you up and if you put to much strain on those stitches, they'll pull."

She glared at me, rolling over so she could look up at me, "Why?" She barked.

"You think I would have let you die?" I asked.

She glared at me, that's all anyone else she knew would have done, and she knows it. The fact I not only didn't kill her, but helped her, it's completely foreign to her.

"Why?" she asked again.

"Because I felt like it!" I snapped, glaring at her in fury. "I'm Justin TODD! I don't need a reason, so why don't you just be glad I didn't kill you and say thank you, huh?"

She cringed, only slightly, I barley noticed it. She was good. "Fine, thank you!" She spat.

"Like you mean it." Gabriel spoke up.

"Shut up Jesus Freak!" I snapped, glaring at him.

I turned back to the girl, and ducked, avoiding her head but, and punched her forcefully in the stomach, right on her stitches.

She let out a cry, and fell down, curling into the fetal position.

"Great." I muttered, hovering over her and yanking her shirt up, looking at the stitches, they weren't pulled, they were still good.

"Get away from me!" She snapped, bringing up her tied ankles and smashing my face in with them.

I stumbled back, clutching my bleeding nose, "Ah!"

I glared at her, a growl ripping threw my throat, "I'm trying to help you! You ungrateful little punk!"

She rolled over, onto her knees, "Says the rich American punk!" She countered.

I glared at her, "Ya know, your little Russian accent get's thicker when your angry. It's cute, in a pathetic, childish way. Like a three year old throwing a tantrum because they couldn't have a chocolate car."

She paused, "What?"

"Don't speak English that well, huh?" I asked, smirking.

She just glared at me. "Dude." I said, shacking my head, "I live with Jason Todd, your glare doesn't phase me."

She looked at me funny, "Bet you're ready to go home soon, huh?"

I frowned, looking away, "Not really." I mumbled. I remember what happened the last time I had disobeyed Dad, back when he was just Jason to me.

_**I hadn't really seen why I wasn't allowed in Jason's bedroom. I respected his rule though, and until now I hadn't gone in there.**_

_**I had been looking for Jason everywhere, in the kitchen, training rooms, living room, everywhere in the warehouse we had been staying in, all except his room. If he was in there, and I walked in, I would be in trouble, but if he wasn't, then I would know he wasn't here. I ran through the pros and cons, and then opened the door, stepping inside.**_

_**There were dirty clothes and guns every where, knives scattered here and there, blue prints, maps, and other paper materials. His bed was just a mattress, no blanket or sheets. I should have figured as much, he wasn't the kind of guy who allowed himself many comforts.**_

_**I liked to think I was one of his comforts, something that was a good thing, something he could trust to always be there. I wanted to be that, I wanted to be something he could use, like a weapon, a soldier.**_

_**He had been kind to me, he was pretty gentle in training compared to others, and I got food here every day, it was paradise. Or at least the closest I had ever gotten to it. Him being so kind to me, that's what made me want to sort of… belong to him, in a way. Jason Todd's little soldier. I kind of liked the idea, if I had to be a weapon for anybody, I'd rather be his, rather than Dunya's.**_

_**I should get out of this room, I could see he wasn't here. Something made me want to stay though, maybe the fact that I wasn't allowed, and I might not get the chance again. Forbidden fruit and all that stuff.**_

_**I walked over to the far wall, where several pieces of paper were posted on the wall. Newspaper clippings, of people called Batman, Robin, and Nightwing. They were in cities called Gotham, and Bludhaven. I touched one, several people were tied up to a lamp post, and in the distance, I saw a black spot on a roof top. Was that one of them?**_

_**I tried to read the articles, but they were in English, and I couldn't read English. I could speak it fairly well, but I couldn't read a word of it.**_

_**I walked over to the bare bed, where there was only one, thin pillow. I lifted it up, and pulled out a small book from underneath.**_

_**I opened it up, and flipped through it, handwritten. I tried to read it, but it was in English, and the hand writing was so bad, I could only pick out a few words, mostly names. Bruce, Dickie Bird, Justine, Talia, and one name repeated a lot, Joker.**_

_**I'm pretty sure Justine was my name in English, but I could be wrong.**_

_**Suddenly, the door slammed open, and I jumped, turning to see Jason, hair wet, dressed in old, black, jogging pants. He must have been in the bathroom, getting a shower. Ugh, stupid!**_

_**His eyes traveled from me, to the book in my hands, and he glared at me. That glare made me hold the book a little tighter, made me stiffen a little.**_

_**He crossed the floor in four long steps, snatching the book from me and shoving it under his pillow. His gaze turned back to me, and it made me want to cry. He grabbed my upper arm tightly, and dragged me out of his room, down the hall and into the living room.**_

_**He shoved me down on the couch, and just glared at me.**_

_**I didn't know what to do, should I say I was sorry? "I'm sorry Jas-"**_

"_**Shut up!" He snapped. Nice job Justine, nice job.**_

_**I stared down at the floor, not wanting to look at his face.**_

Looking back, I'm sure he was probably wondering what to do with me. Punishing kids wasn't exactly something he was used to. I guess I can't blame him for what he had thought of as punishment.

_**He grabbed my shirt collar, yanking me up and off the ground, so we were more or less eye to eye.**_

_**His glare was getting worse by the second. His grip tightened on my collar, "I told you to stay out of there."**_

"_**I didn't know where you were." I whispered.**_

"_**I told you to never go in!" He snapped, "Why didn't you just knock on the door!"**_

_**My eyes widened. Stupid!**_

_**He pulled his fist back, and my eyes widened, I had been hit by him before, in training, but never like this. His fist collided with my face, right over my left eye. My head snapped back, I'm surprised my neck didn't snap from all that force.**_

_**He dropped me, and I immediately curled up into the fetal position, hugging myself as tightly as I could, waiting for more blows to come. They never did.**_

_**I cautiously uncurled from my little ball, and looked up at him. He wasn't holding a knife, or a gun. He wasn't hitting me anymore. He was just looking at me, as if not knowing what to do next, or not understanding my actions.**_

_**I had never thought Jason would hit me, not like that. I felt… betrayed. He was the only one I had ever trusted, trusted not to hit me, or hurt me in any way. I couldn't stop the tears threatening to fall. They gathered, and I turned away from Jason, not wanting him to see me cry.**_

"_**Justine…" He mumbled, in a tone I couldn't place.**_

_**I sniffed, closing my eyes so the tears wouldn't fall. I heard him move, and he kneeled down next me, putting a hand on my shoulder, and squeezing softly.**_

"_**I'm sorry." I whispered again.**_

"_**No." He said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me into a hug, not a headlock. "I'm sorry."**_

_**My eyes opened, and the tears fell slowly. I sniffed again, and wrapped my arms around his neck, hiding my face into his neck, and whimpering.**_

"_**I'm sorry." He said again. "I'm new at this, I have no idea how to raise a kid, let alone a kid like you."**_

_**I don't know what he meant by that, but I figured it was the fact I wasn't normal, I was an assassin.**_

"_**I didn't know what else to do." he mumbled, "I'm not used to this."**_

_**I pulled away, looking up at him, and touching my eyes carefully, then flinching. He flinched too. "Neither am I." I shrugged. "What was that book anyways?"**_

"_**My journal." He said, "How much did you read?"**_

"_**Nothing." I answered. "I can't read English."**_


	37. In Your Face Talia!

After finding a way to get the girl, turns out her name was Dawn Rivington, back to her partner, a boy with dark shaggy brown hair, that almost reminded me of Raphael. In looks mostly, but they also held themselves the same way, two boys who knew almost nothing.

Anyways, we left her tied up, and used her bow to fire exploding arrows into the air, her partner would hear them, recognize them, and come for her. So she said anyways.

The days slowly ticked by, but I never let them blur together. My night and day stayed as separate as I could get them, and my reflexes and skills, I tried to keep them at peak. Even though I tried to stay rested (and got the occasional work out from a wild pig, wolf, or an assassin, even an alligator once) I felt my own nutrition levels dropping. I tried to choke down more slugs, or dry fungi, but it didn't help much. The wild pig had run off before I could shoot it, so… NO PORK CHOPS FOR ME!

Gabriel was worse. He was used to having food on demand, I had seen the kitchen at the church, and if that kitchen was on earth, what were the kitchens in heaven like? Just thinking about all that bread made me want to call this thing off and go home. Eat a whole bakery full of freshly baked bread. Still warm, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. When you bite down, the crust gently scratches the roof of your mouth, the middle of the bread releases the warmth into your mouth, and the taste, it's flavorless, but it's the texture that makes you want more, and more, and more!

When I looked up into the sky, the clouds kind of reminded me of bread, but sometimes they reminded me of mashed potatoes. Oh, potato bread. Hot dog buns made out of potato bread, it's the best thing for a hot dog, ever.

My stomach growled loudly, and I groaned, sitting up, and staring at the white and red wood slowly burning in front of me. Gabriel was passed out next to me, mumbling in his sleep.

"Mary… pizza… hot dog…" Were small pieces I picked up. So he liked Mary? Huh, should have figured. No skin off my nose, he probably only liked good little Christian girls. Ha, like I would ever be in that stereotype.

I heard a rustle in the bushes, and I immediately grabbed a knife, and hurled it at the bush, just crossing my fingers I wouldn't kill anyone who was in there. If I did, I'd just say 'my bad' and face Bruce when I got home. I was in a bad mood, and I didn't care if I killed someone who was trying to kill me in the first place anyways.

I listened, but there was no sound, so I took out a gun, and walked over to the bush, to see a pretty big rabbit, with my knife in it's chest. THANK YOU GOD!

I smirked to myself, dragging the rabbit over to the fire, and quickly taking out the knife, quickly slicing it's back open, and tearing away the fur and skin. Holding the small carcass above the ground, and then using the knife to cut open the stomach muscles, as the organ spilled out. I tried not to pierce any organs, that would smell really bad.

I cut off big portions of meat, from the thighs, arms, and back.

A few thick sticks we had placed next to the fire incase we ever did catch an animal and needed to cook it served as a good way to prop it above the burning remains of the fire. The meat would be ready pretty soon, before Gabriel woke up on his own. It wasn't much, but for now, it would have to be enough.

**AT DR:**

"Ew." Conan mumbled, grossed out by the rabbit scene.

"I could have brought that back to life, if I was there." Snow said.

"Yeah, but they need to eat it." Kyler dismissed.

"True." Snow compromised.

"How much longer do they have to go?" Raphael asked.

"Tomorrow, they can leave the forest, but that's not gonna be easy." Kyler piped up.

"Why?' Michael asked, "I'm pretty sure surviving in there for three weeks with hardly any food and ninjas after your head would have been the hard part."

Raphael turned his eyes to Kyler, concerned. He had no respect for Kyler whatsoever as team leader, and he was very upset she was in charge while Justin was gone. However, he knew that next to Justin, Kyler was the best hero on this little team of theirs. She was even better than Justin at strategizing, which was pretty much the only thing she did better than Justin.

"What's wrong?' He asked.

"You heard Talia say the rules, at least half of them have to die before they can continue on." Kyler said.

"Yeah, but as long as that's fine, she'll be done, and she'll be here ordering us around like normal by next week, right?" Raphael asked, hoping she'd say yes. The thought of Justin dying didn't appeal to him, and he knew she might die in this contest.

"Talia said she'd keep adding preliminaries if at least half didn't die, that means there's at least one trial after this, not counting preliminaries." Kyler explained.

Raphael was silent, "Couldn't that mean that they count being taken from apprentice to assassin a type of trial, with no danger?"

Kyler looked at him sternly, "That's a fool's wish Hot Shot."

Raphael was silent for a moment, before both of his fists exploded in flames. The water bottle he had been holding melted, and water that didn't escape to the floor vaporized from the intense heat of his hands. He glared at Kyler, who's eyes widened a bit at the sight.

"Don't call me that." he growled out.

Kyler was silent for a full minute, before nodding, "Fine."

The flames immediately blew out, and Raphael continued watching the computer, as if nothing has happened.

Kyler accepted that, and continued, "Anyways, none of the other assassins are going to want to go through another preliminary round, most of them are probably ready for a whole year of rest. They'll be looking for any chance to kill off as many as they can, including the edge of the woods."

Conan's eyes widened, "You mean that they'll-"

"Be waiting outside of the woods to fire arrows, knives, guns, and whatever else they have up their sleeves." Kyler finished.

"You think she'll die?' Raphael asked, boldly.

Kyler shook her head, "If I know Justin, she'll be fine, it's Gabriel I'm worried about."

Mary looked a the screen in concern, watching Gabriel wake up and him and Justin dig into the cooked rabbit, not caring if it was done cooking or not.

"Black Hood won't let him die, will she?" Mary asked, hoping against hope she got the answer she so desperately wanted.

Everyone was silent for a few moments, until Kyler took it upon herself as the leader to answer. "Justin… well, no one knows what goes on inside that girls head, so even I wouldn't know."

Mary looked straight at Kyler, determination in her eye, "Would her father know?"

Something clicked in Kyler's mind, and her eyes widened, "Oh. Mary, if you go knocking at the Red Hood's door, especially during this tournament, he might-"

"Would he know?" Mary asked louder, wanting her answer.

Kyler looked at her for a moment, and then sighed. "I guess he would."

Mary nodded, and turned back to the screen, glaring at Justin's form. "Where is he?"

Kyler glared at her, "I'm not under leave to tell you that."

"Break the rules then!" Mary ordered, standing up and glaring into Kyler's eyes.

Kyler stood up too, "His identity, the whole Bat family's identity, that secret is even more hushed up than the water gate conspiracy, area 51, and the real date of the apocalypse all put together."

Mary refused to back down, "That's _my _team mate out there! I want to know if the only thing he has to worry about is the assassins he's fighting, or the sorry excuse for a hero he decided to trust!"

Conan nudged Snow, "Five bucks this turns into a fist fight."

Snow nodded, "You're on."

A sudden change washed over Kyler as soon as Mary finished talking. She stood a little taller, and her legs became rigid, as did her arms. She straightened her shoulders, and raised her chin in defiance to Mary, every inch of her body indicating that she was done with this argument and if Mary did not submit _now_, it was going to get _very_ physical. Her eye brows drew closer together, and Raphael was sure he saw fire blazing in her brown eyes.

"Black Hood is the leader of this team, and she could very well be the finest hero, fighter, assassin, whatever you want to call it, that's in that hell hole they call a forest. Gabriel is a hindrance in that kind of trial, and if any other assassin had Gabriel as a partner, they would have killed him long ago." Kyler's stance didn't change, and for a moment, Conan was sure she saw a younger looking Roy Harper standing in front of her.

"Not only has Justin let him live and continue as a hindrance that threatens her life, she has gone out of her way to try and provide for him, trying to get that deer for food nearly got her _killed _by Dawn. And if you haven't noticed, she's been giving Gabriel more food than she gets. Now, I suggest you sit down and keep this over protective girlfriend nonsense out of my face, or I will personally escort you to Arkum Asylum and see to it you get prescribed with some type of mental illness which requires you to be kept there until the tournament is over. Am I clear?" Kyler asked, putting force behind each and ever word that came out of her mouth.

Mary held eye contact for a moment, before slowly sitting down.

"Good." Kyler said, and finally relaxed her stance.

**WITH JUSTIN AND GABRIEL**

Justin slowly crawled across tree limbs, making no noise at all. Sometimes she crawled on her stomach across a long limb, other times she was on her hands and knees, silently climbing through limbs. Gabriel followed suit, not making any noise either.

A funny thing about hunger, true hunger, it makes you more attentive. If you have a full stomach, your more at ease. If your hungry, only going on a few mouthfuls of food a day, your as sharp as a tack, quick to react.

_That_, Justin noted, _Is probably why Gabriel's skills seem more adequate. He's more attentive._

Just hardly looked at the branches she crawled on, she was looking around for witnesses. She knew very well the dangers, and she was not going to risk it. If she was on her own, she might charge out of the forest, throwing explosives and knives, firing bullets and just making the most inhuman screams possible, but Gabriel was with her. Not only that, she wasn't sure she had the strength. Three weeks with barley any food had taken it's toll.

Not only was she malnourished, she had cuts and stitches all over, not to mention her pretty bad black eye.

She saw the edge of the forest up ahead, with two suspicious shadows peaking our from behind the last tree. Trapped. Just like all the other exits they had tried. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up, she was tired, and she just wanted to get out of this forest! It had been tree weeks since she had seen a TV or a computer. More than getting out of the forest, she wanted to be back in the Bat cave, using the Bat computer to cheat on her homework.

She looked back at Gabriel, and then back at the trees ahead. She slowly reached her left hand into her jacket, all the way to the back, and pulled out a small handful of little dark grey balls, about the size of her thumb nail, with small black bat symbol on each one.

She passed three back to him, keeping four for herself. She carefully turned to him, rolling around on the branch, and started using what little sign language she had picked up from her Grandmother, who was fluent in it.

Carefully and slowly, she signed, 'Throw them, and then run out of the trees.' She paused, trying to remember what to sign next, 'Do not wait for me, I will come.'

He paused, and then shrugged. He did not know sign language.

Justin nearly tackled him to strangle him. Did he have any other skills besides fighting and using whatever God-given little spells he used?

She carefully mouthed 'Throw these.' She pointed to the balls she had given him, then made a motion that signified they would explode. He nodded, understanding.

'Run!' She mouthed, and pointed at a path he could take around the two people ahead, then shook her head while mouthing 'Don't wait for me." She finished by point to herself.

He nodded, understanding. She promised herself she would teach him sign language if they made it out of this.

She held up her three fingers, counting down, and they both threw them at the tree where the two were hiding, Gabriel took off where Justin had pointed, and Justin jumped up on the branch, running across it, until it ended. She jumped into the air, pulling out two knives, and threw them as the two assassins ran out, towards it.

She fell on them, a foot on each of their shoulders, and buried a knife in each shoulder, and then jumped off, falling on her back while pulling out a gun from both of her combat boots, and shooting the backs of their knees, then the achilles tendon on each ankle. They fell, each trying to draw a knife or gun, but she shot their hands, and then jumped on them, each foot landing on the bottom of their sternum, immediately breaking ribs.

They both cried out, and I jumped off of them, making them groan in pain, and hold various wounded areas. I sprinted out of the forest, into clear, golden sunshine. I was out!

I had no idea I hated the forest so much until right then. Gabriel was right there, waiting for me, standing in front of Talia herself. I jogged over to her, panting. "So, who made it out first?"

"You two," She said, in an incredibly fake happy voice. "Congratulations."

_All I heard was, Justin Todd, I will kill you in the most painful way possible._

I smirked, "What was that prize for first place again?"

She kept the sickly sweet smile on her face, "Three days rest with the best medical care, food, and other treatment we have to offer."

"S-W-E-E-T!" I commented. "Are any others close to getting O-U-T?"

She narrowed her eyes at me, "No."

"D-R-A-G." I said, smirking even more.

Gabriel chuckled, and Talia gave him a burning look, making him cringe. She turned back to me, opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyes locked on something behind me. I turned around, to see Dawn walking out of the forest with her partner by her side, a monster of a boy with a huge build, at _least _seven feet tall. **At least**. His dirty blonde hair was thin, and ragged. It hung in his eyes, almost hiding them from view.

He looked over at me, glaring, and then turning away. Talia wasn't the only one who wanted to kill me apparently. Ha, let him try.

I was looking foreword to three days off, but not even their best food could compare to Alfred's meatloaf. It was Wednesday, he always made meatloaf on Wednesday. He wraps it on bacon… Great, now I sound like Rango.


	38. Back Home

**IN GOTHAM CITY:**

A figure dashed across roof tops, sprinting hard at the beginning, but slowing down at the end, indicating slight fear. They had done this before, but must have been vaguely new to jumping over alleyways.

They landed on one particular roof, and instead of rushing to the edge across from another building, he made a right turn. Launching himself over the wrong edge, kicking off as far as he could, for a moment, he was gone.

For a split moment in time, he could live a lifetime. He hovered above the highway, at least thirty feet above the rushing cars and honking horns.

The head lights, neon signs, and searchlights from below made an odd glow that reflected onto him, making him feel like fire.

As soon as gravity began to do it's job, he immediately took out a small black bat shaped grappling line, and shot it. It wrapped around a flag pole, and he swung through the air, trying not to hit the edge of the building was a challenge, but he got past it.

At the right moment, he let go of the line, flying through the air, towards a rooftop. He landed, stumbling, and falling on his face, rolling onto his shoulders, and then landing hard on his butt.

He groaned, standing up, and rubbing said body part, wincing.

In the better lighting, you could see he was wearing black baggy jeans, a black leather jacket, a black muscle tee shirt with red stitching, a black domino mask lined in red, and thick black leather gloves.

"Wow, that was kind of funny." Came a sarcastic voice that sounded so familiar.

The boy whirled around, and for a split second, the man who had spoken had seem hope, before it shattered.

"No need to look so happy kid." The Red Hood said, smirking under his helmet.

The boy scowled at him, snorting, "Shove off."

The mad quickly took out a gun, and shot the spot on the concrete roof right in front of the boy's right foot. "Watch your mouth kid." He said, all joking gone from his voice.

The boy was obviously scared, but not surprised. "Nice threat." He said sarcastically. "To bad your kid hands out death threats and beatings like cheap party favors."

The man hesitated, "You that Raphael kid?"

"Yeah." He mumbled, glaring at the man, who wasn't the slightest bit phased.

The man chuckled, "Last time I checked, you're not supposed to be out here without a certain girl mentioned previously."

The boy jerked his head up to look at the man, "Yeah, well Justin isn't here! And everyone knows she's not coming back! She's gonna die-"

The man suddenly body tackled the boy, pinning him down to the roof, and pressing his wickedly twisted kris knife to his throat, pressing down dangerously.

"Don't you dare say that about my daughter." He said sternly, hate blazing in his eyes, and Raphael didn't have to see through the helmet to know _**that**_.

Raphael tried to push the man off, but all that did for him was get him a thing cut as the knife was pressed harder.

"If you ever say that to my face again, I swear to God I will kill you." He threatened.

The boy still seemed like he was used to this treatment. "Once again, cheap party favors."

_How many times has Justin done this to him?_ Jason wondered for a moment, before getting off the boy slowly. "Has she ever hung you off a building by your foot?"

"No." The boy said, getting up and brushing his jacket off. "but trust me, she's getting to it."

The man just shook his head, turning away. "Have a nice night." He called half heartedly.

"Hey!" Raphael called.

Jason stopped, looking over his shoulder at the boy, "What? You want me to hang you off a building?"

"Justin… she is coming back, right?" He asked.

Jason paused for a moment, turning towards him fully. For a moment, he looked the boy up and down. He wasn't nearly as stupid and weak as Justin had been leading him to believe. Maybe that was just because losing his friend had pushed him to do better. Maybe it was Justin's teaching finally taking root in his mind. Maybe he was some kind of clone that had replaced the weakling Justin had described.

Either way, He seemed genuinely concerned about his daughter. The man glared for a moment, trying to decide if he should like that fact or not, before finally answering the question.

"You can bet your life on it." The man turned away once more, "Now go home, before Speedy finds out you split to go patrolling. She might seem like the nice one compared to Justin, but that kid can be scary as Two Face."

Raphael chuckled, "Yeah, trust me, that much I know."

Red Hood laughed to himself, before disappearing into the Gotham night. Raphael shook his head, "Like father like daughter. Literally."

**AT WAYNE MANOR:**

Kimberley sat down on her bed, curled up in a ball, just wanting Justin to be home with her family. Everyone missed Justin, missed seeing the little red head run through the manor from a fuming Bruce, or occasionally, Damian. Kim missed walking down to the bat cave to see Justin trying to teach Kenya to fire a gun, which Damian tried to put a stop to immediately, saying that she was better suited for a bo staff or a sword.

Justin had then given him quite an earful, Kim was only able to catch bits and pieces, "Shut up you… There's no way I'd ever… run around Gotham with a gay butter knife on her back… FREAKIN OVER SIZED CHOP STICKS AND DISCO COLLARS!"

Jason walked into the room, and frowned at Kim. He wanted to tell her that it was her fault Justin was gone, that if she hadn't let her go, she wouldn't be in danger. Jason knew that would only make it worse though, and he loved Kim to much to hurt her like that.

He walked over to the bed, coming up behind her silently and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. "She'll be OK." He lied.

Kim didn't respond, just shivered. Jason didn't know why, until he realized he was right against her neck, his breath tickling her skin. He smirked, kissing her neck lightly. "You cold Kimmy?"

He felt her getting tense, nervous. He smirked against her neck, chuckling, which only made her tense up more. How nervous could he get her?

He turned her around, just enough for her to see him smirk, and then dove at her neck, biting harshly. She cried out, and her next reaction caught him off guard. He never even saw her fist flying at his face. It was only when he was on his back on the bed, face throbbing did he realize she had hit him.

"Jason." She growled.

Jason chuckled, "Totally worth it."

**WITH JUSTIN AND GABRIEL:**

Gotta admit, the food was great, and the healing even greater. When Talia said our best medical treatment, I didn't realized she meant the best. Water from the Lazarus pit! When the water was poured over my wounds, it was like ice being injected into my blood stream, but almost immediately the ice turned into a pleasantly warm feeling, and when I looked down at my wounds, they were gone.

I smirked to myself, I might sneak a bottle home, _might_.

Gabriel was convinced that the Lazarus pit must be filled with holy water, claiming the sensations of healing were exactly the same. I ignored him for the most part. Maybe I really should have brought Kyler with me, she would have been more useful than him in the forest. But then who would have taken care of DR? Conan? **No**! Snow wasn't in tune with this time yet, she had some catching up to do before I left her in charge of anything bigger than fetching my a soda. Hot Shot? I nearly laughed out loud, right in front of Gabriel, who was reading from his Bible.

I shook my head, he had been praying and reading that thing since we came back to our room. I wonder who he was praying for? Maybe for us to live through the competition?

"Gabe?" I asked.

He looked up, "Yes?"

"What are you praying about?" I asked.

"Praying that they serve something vaguely American for lunch." He said, "I'm tired of all those clams and lobsters. I need a burger!"

I nodded, smirking. "Double bacon cheese burger."

His eyes gleamed, "Now you're just teasing me."

"Of course I am." I said, running a finger over what used to be a stitched up knife wound, but was now fresh new skin. "You're to much fun to tease."


	39. You Can't Make Me!

The weeks sped by, and pretty soon, it was time for another trial. One on one battles, assassin vs assassin. I smirked, finally, something Gabriel could do! I was tired of dragging around his dead weight, and it was about time he fought a little.

We were led into a room with an arena in the middle, balconies above the arena, which is where we were instructed to stand. Rules simple enough, two assassin's go into the ring, one comes out. Only way to win is for the other person to either die, or forfeit. Other than that, no rules.

The first match started up, and we saw some pretty good action. It was like an action movie, but kind of mixed with a horror movie too, cause the guy won the match by chopping of the other assassin's head.

Gabriel stared in horror as the head rolled across the floor, and he shook a little, before dry heaving.

"If you're going to throw up, turn towards Talia." I advised. He glared at me, not amused.

Talia spoke up, "Damascus is the winner!"

A few more rounds went past, and I was very proud of Gabriel for not puking yet.

Eventually Gabriel's match was called, and he was fighting against a guy with throwing knives, probably coated in poison.

The match started, and Gabriel dodged his knives pretty easily. I saw some flaws in his stance, I'd tease him about it later. After a few minutes of the dodging, knives, the idiot ran out of them, and Gabriel took that opportunity to ram hi knee into the side of the guy's head.

"KO!" Gabriel shouted, throwing both fists up in victory.

Then, Talia stood up, "And now, the rouge assassin-" everyone's eyes shot to me, "Justine Todd, fighting our own, Dawn Rivington!"

"It's Justin!" I snapped, jumping off the balcony and into the arena, where someone's dead body was being dragged out. Dawn did the same, stepping closer to me so there was only five feet between us.

We stared each other down for a few seconds, before each of us easily fell into a fighting stance. I glared at her, this worked better with a domino mask… lenses make you look a lot scarier. She stared back at me, no emotion whatsoever on her face.

Neither of us moved, our arms were rigid, legs both shaking a little. She was a killing machine, like me. Or skills, both even, if I was calculating it right. One false move on my part, she'd take my life easily. She was probably thinking the same thing, but with roles reversed.

Only problem was, I can't kill her. I know I can't. She _can _cross that line, she _can _kill me. It's so much easier to kill someone than to knock them out. She's got the upper hand.

She leapt at me, trying to kick my face. I flipped back, landing, and then immediately throwing a knife at her left knee. She dodged easily, and came at me with her fist, trying to punch my stomach. I threw myself out of the way with some difficulty, and then tried to punch her in the face. She stepped out of the way, grabbing my elbow.

I panicked, and kicked her in her shin, as hard as I could. She released my elbow, and I jumped back, pulling out a gun as quickly as I could.

"Forfeit." I commanded.

"No." She said, and kicked the gun out of my hand, then leapt at me. She dove into a punching frenzy. I blocked as best as I could, trying to look for an opening while at the same time trying to not get punched by her.

She jerked her knee up, and I turned sideways to avoid it, and then kicked her in the face as hard as I could. She stumbled back, and I grabbed my gun as it fell, and once again pointed it at her head.

"I saw FORFEIT!" I screamed.

"Stop treating me like a weakling!" She hissed. "If you're better than me, how about you actually kill me? Pay me a little respect!"

I glared at her, "I can't do that."

She leapt at me, dodging the shot I fired at her shoulder, and punching my face I stumbled back, blocking her next hit.

"WHY!" She screeched.

"Because I don't kill!" I snapped, kicking her in the back of the knee and then punching her in the side of the face as she fell. I jumped on top of her as she fell, pelting her face mercilessly, "You won't break me!"

She tried to throw me off, but I wouldn't let her. All the frustration building up, how helpless I had felt in the forest, not being able to really make sure the people I knocked out lived. I hadn't seen a single one come out of that forest. They had been killed, one way or another. No matter what I had done, they hadn't lived. They were children, barley older than myself, and I hadn't been able to save them.

That was when I realized exactly why Talia had brought me here, to the forest, to this arena. She was trying to get me to kill. She wanted me to go back to Wayne manor, with all of them knowing I had done it.

She wanted to turn me from the vigilante I was, back into the killer I had once been. That was her game. That was her angle. That was her objective, to take the whole year that I had spent beating every instinct she had pounded into me out of my system. She didn't just want to take my no killing streak away from me, she wanted to take Black Hood from me.

"NO!" I screamed, pounding on Dawn's face. She had taken out a knife by now, and stabbed it into my thigh. I felt it enter into my flesh, but I didn't even feel the pain, that's how angry I was.

"You can't break me!" I protested. "You can't take this away from me!"

Dawn suddenly quit moving beneath me, and I glared up at Talia. "You can't make me do anything!" I screamed. Everyone in that room, every apprentice, was astonished. I had defied Talia, the woman they all feared, and I had done it without fear, in front of everyone.

I jumped up, off of Dawn's unconscious form, and pointed a finger accusingly at Talia, "You have no control over me anymore!" I screamed. "I'm not your weapon, I don't belong to anyone, and I'm my own person! No matter what you throw my way, no matter what you do in this trial, YOU WILL NEVER MAKE ME CROSS THAT LINE!"

My gaze turned to all the others, the one's I would end up fighting eventually. "My name is Justin Todd, and I'm going to beat every single one of you!"

Talia appeared unfazed, but I know she was really furious inside, raging mad at me, mad that now, she knew no matter what she did, she couldn't have me. No one could. "Justine Todd is the winner."

I walked back up to the balcony, everyone's eyes on me. None of them could comprehend it, because they had been taught that it was impossible to be free, but I was living proof.

**AT WAYNE MANOR!**

"Yes!" Shouted Jason, slapping Kimberly's thigh as the match between Justin and that other girl ended. "That's my girl!"

Kimberly removed his hand, and nodded, "She's good."

Dick cheered loudly, "Go Justin! Give 'em hell little rocket!"

Tim cheered along with him, while Bruce just stared at the TV, frowning.

Why was Talia so interested in getting Justin back? She had more fighters, much more skilled, right at her finger tips. Sure, Justin was part of this family, but so was Damian. Why Justin?

**AR DR**

Everyone, literally, everyone was cheering, standing up, clapping, throwing popcorn at each other, like the Gators had just won the super bowl.

Kyler took out her phone, putting one finger in her ear while she pressed the phone onto the other ear, "Yeah, she won! Nope, hasn't killed anybody. Gabriel's fine too. Bye Michael."

She hung up, turning to her team, "Alright people, Justin's coming home!"

Conan shot into the air, she didn't really like Justin, but after watching her in the forest, and seeing her determination, she had begun to respect Justin. Raphael just couldn't hold it in, and grabbed Kyler, picking her up easily and spinning her around, "Yes!"

Suddenly realizing what he had done, he put her down, and looked away. "Sorry." He said quickly.

"Uh… that's OK." Kyler said, turning back to the computer screen, trying to hide the blush creeping onto her face.

**THE NEXT DAY, WITH JUSTIN AND GABRIEL:**

Everyone who had passed the trials stood in a straight line, waiting as Talia stood in front of us, staring each of us down. Dawn was here. I might have beaten her, but she had to fight an extra match due to an uneven amount of people. She had killed the boy she fought easily, and it sickened me to watch.

Talia finally spoke, "You have all passed the trials, some of you have seen your friends and enemies die in front of you, by your hand or another's. You may feel sorrow for them, maybe even regret. Push those feelings away. They were weak, and you are strong. You deserved life, they did not."

How had Bruce even been in love with this woman? She was cold, cruel, and had an utter disregard for every human's right to live.

"As a result of your strength, you are all relieved of the title apprentice." Her gaze turned cold as she looked at me, "And you are relieved of any title that means something to me or any other person here. You are to leave at once, and never return. If you do, you will be killed. You are dead to me, and this organization."

I nodded, and said, "I wouldn't want it any other way, because scum like you Talia, I wouldn't want to have any title that means something other then 'free' to you. Knowing you has been the most unappealing attribute of this God forsaken place."

I turned away, and started to walk out, Gabriel following me. Halfway out of the room I heard clapping. I turned around, to see Dawn, clapping slowly, nodding at me. Her partner started clapping too, and pretty soon every kid was clapping, some smiling, some just nodding at me.

I didn't know what to make of that at all, I had given them hope. I had shown them that they weren't condemned to this life. They could choose better, they could be better.

I had no idea how to respond to that, I had been regarded as a hero in Gotham, but the Black Hood never really got much attention. They were… I was really a hero to them. The only one they had ever known.

I turned around, and walked out of the room, Gabriel following me quickly.

Being a hero to them was awesome, but right now, I just wanted to get home, to **my **hero.


	40. Home Coming

I wasn't to excited to go home, sure I wanted to see everybody again, but I wasn't looking foreword to whatever punishment Dad was gonna dish out. So instead of going straight home, I headed to DR, my excuse was 'I need to write a report on the tournament.'

As soon as I walked in, Someone shouted, "SHE'S HERE!"

Quickly, a little head of blonde hair came running out at me, and Kenya launched herself at my knee, grabbing it and not letting go, "Justin!"

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

She smiled up at me, "Tim said you would probably come here first. He was right!"

_Thank you Tim. Thank you._ I looked towards the hall where Kenya had come running, and saw Rango running right at me. I yelped, and Rango tackled me, licking frantically at my face, whining and barking loudly.

I threw me arms around his neck, "Rango!"

He barked happily, and resumed the licking. Kenya quickly joined in on the dog pile, laughing happily and hugging me.

I looked up to see Dad, Mom, Dick, and Tim standing there, all in costume. Mom, Tim, and Dick rushed over, joining in on the dog pile.

Mom laughed, hugging me, "I'm so glad you're back!"

Dick smiled too, "You really showed them! They won't be messing with the Bat Family for a long time."

Kyler piped up, when had she walked in? "And with our leader missing, the press has been putting Desperate Revenge all over headlines in Gotham, Star City, Metropolis, you name it!"

Conan flew in with Snow, "Yeah, they all think you're dead, and they think Kyler took over for ya as leader of DR."

"Cool." I said, "Black Hood is publicly dead."

"Most of the superhero community knows it's not true." Raphael said, walking in, munching on a chocolate bar. "Mary and Michael nearly flipped when they read one article, some guy claimed he found your body, but it was just some other kid's body he slapped a leather jacket and mask on. Me and Kyler tracked him down and popped him a good one."

I nodded, smirking, "You been staying out of trouble?"

"No." He said.

"Course not. How many times have you been knocked out by someone on this team since I've been gone?" I asked, imagining all the times they must have gotten fed up with him and knocked him out just to get him to shut up.

"I stopped counting after fifteen." He said, shrugging and holding out his candy bar, "Want a bite?"

"Chocolate, caramel, cookie dough, and way to many calories to be healthy." She said sarcastically, taking it. "But I'm starving."

Raphael watched with sad eyes as she devoured it, "I said a bite, not the whole thing."

"Shut up and I'll buy you a chocolate fountain." She said, scarfing the last bite down.

"Really?" He asked.

She shrugged, "Granddaughter of a billionaire."

Kyler rolled her eyes, "Have money will be stupid with it."

"You're not going to get that skating rink for your birthday." I said, glaring at her.

Dad cleared his throat, and I winced, turning around to look at him. I swallowed, and then carefully walked over to him. He stared me down, and I glared at him, daring him to defy me, to tell me I was wrong.

"I can't believe you." He hissed.

"I did what I had to-"

He silenced me by grabbing my arms and yanking me towards him, wrapping his arms around me in a hug. My eyes widened, no yelling? No being grounded for life? No smack across the face?

He hugged me tighter, "If you ever think about trying _anything _like that again, just remember, you're not to old for me to take you over my knee."

Raphael laughed, "Aw, your daddy's gonna spank you!"

"I'll throw something sharp and pointy at your face later." I growled, and quickly returned Dad's hug. "Trust me, I'm going to be staying in Gotham for a long time to come."

I was perfectly fine with living in Dad's shadow for a few months, maybe another year or two. Who cared if my reputation was a mini version of Dad's? Who cared if I was being judged off of his personality and achievements? I was a mini version of him! Judging me from who Dad is isn't exactly that far off.

I pulled away from dad, with a smile that would put Booster Gold to shame. I'll admit it, I was a daddy's girl. The most homicidal vigilante in the world, in my eyes, was the best Dad I could ever ask for.

Someone cleared their throat, "Well, now that this painfully embarrassing display of emotion is over, and you do realize how increasingly difficult it is becoming for me to refer to you as my family, can we please stop _hugging _now?"

I smiled, turning around to look at Robin. "Robin." I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me, "Why are you looking at me in that way?"

I smiled bigger, "Robin, I am going to do something you are not going to like one little bit, but if you fight with me over this action, you will lose."

His eyes widened, "No."

"Yes." I said firmly, walking towards him.

He broke out into a run, trying to get away from me, but I tackled him, wrapping him out in a bear hug. "Missed you little bro!"

He squealed, wiggling and thrashing, "Get off me!"

"I won't stop hugging until you say you missed me!" I protested, tightening my grip.

"Never!" He protested, finally wiggling out of my grip, and running away.

"Mark my words Robin, I will get you to say it!" I shouted after him.

Kyler snorted, "We ordered pizza ten minutes ago, we got your favorite."

I looked up at her, "Bacon, ham, Italian sausage and mushroom?"

She nodded, "No one's touched it yet, but I think Raphael just left to get some-"

I didn't let her finish, bolting down the hallway, and into the kitchen, "Hand's off the pizza!"

Raphael nearly screamed when I kicked him away from the pizza, grabbing the one with the most bacon and practically shoving it down my throat. Sure, they had given us a bunch of fancy food at the League of Assassins, wine, stew, clams, lobster, craw fish, but nothing, and I mean _nothing_, beats a greasy, meat covered American pizza. _Nothing_!


	41. Dinner

Good thing about being malnourished and tragically scarred by Talia Al Ghul? Alfred gives you unlimited helpings of everything! His famous Chocolate Hershey cake, lamb chops, bacon, muffins, pancake batter ice cream (He invented that!), burritos, mashed potatoes, mushroom soup, meatloaf, steamed carrots, brussle sprouts (Only he could make them taste good), fried chicken, Otters Paws Ice cream, Rocky Road milkshakes, mint ice cream and Oreo cookie sundaes, and apple pie with any kind of ice cream I wanted. There was really only one thing I ate more than once, his yeast rolls. Light, fluffy, with just enough butter dribbled on top of them. Bread was what God commanded us to eat, right?

Damian was glaring at me with red eyes through out dinner, and desert. I have to confess, most of that bacon went right under to table, to Rango's waiting mouth. I knew Alfred saw, but he was probably letting me off easy since it was my first day back.

"What do you think Gabriel's doing right now?" Tim asked out of interest, taking a bite of apple pie.

"Eating." I said, stuffing half a yeast roll into my mouth.

Damian looked at me in disgust, "You are aware that dinner ended ten minutes ago, correct? Or did you just think Alfred was suddenly serving ice cream and apple pie as part of dinner?"

I looked at him sternly, "I know not the separations of dinner and dessert, and in time grasshopper, neither will you."

Dad laughed, cramming a yeast roll into his mouth, "Tell him kid!"

Uncle Dick stared at us for a minute, then pushed his apple pie away, "I lost my appetite."

Rango suddenly flipped onto the table, grabbing the pie and dashing off, avoiding the spoon Alfred through at him with ease, "Thieving mongrel!"

Bruce raised an eyebrow at me, "Justin, was the food there that bad?"

I gave him the best puppy dog look I could muster, "They gave us snails to eat Bruce."

"It's called Es cargo." Damian snapped, pushing away form the table, "And you're a pig."

Kenya piped up, "Do they wiggle when you swallow them?"

I shivered, "I wish I could say no."

She wrinkled her nose, "What do they taste like?"

"Chunky milk and fish oil." I said, reaching for Damian's yeast roll, and Dad beating me to it, "Hey!"

"First come first served." He said.

"What's that mean?" Kenya asked.

"Basically?" Dad asked, "Go suck on a snail."

I huffed, and shoved what was left of my pie in my mouth. "Alfred, how do you do it?"

"Love, patience, and tender care." He said.

"Are you referring to food, or raising all these kids?" Kim asked.

My eyebrows shot up, "We're being raised?"

Bruce gave me a stern look, "Justin, eat."

"That is one command I will actually-"

"Eat." He said firmly, and I practically buried my nose, mostly lips, into my food.

Dick laughed, "Well, your friend will be happy you're back, your teams been making head lines."

"Even Gotham city headlines?" I asked.

Brue nodded, handing my the newspaper, "Don't get to happy about it."

"Why?" I asked, taking it. My eyes skimmed the article, found nothing wrong, and then looked back at the headline. I growled, "They spelled Black Hood wrong. It's two words people! Not one! I made it two words so the spell check wouldn't say I had a miss spelled word when I did make the headlines."

"I thought you just followed his example." Tim said, jerking his thumb at Dad.

"No, I actually wanted it to be one word, but when I was typing my resume for the Justice League, I get mad at spell check."

"You tried to get in the Justice League?" Mom asked.

"Thought about it, got mad at spell check, through my laptop out the window, and decided to go with a two word name." I responded.

Bruce glared at me, "You told me some one stole it."

I paused, realizing what I had done. _Me and my big fat mouth._

I cleared my throat, looking Bruce squarely in the eye, "Let's be honest, you really shouldn't have believed anyone at school was dumb enough to break into my locker. Secondly, it's not the worst thing I've lied about."

Alfred took the newspaper, "I do believe you've succeeded in shoving your foot deeper into your mouth Miss Justine."

Bruce glared at me, and I couldn't hide the flinch. "Justine, me and you are going to have a talk that you're not going to like one little bit."

Dad choked on his roll, "Bruce, how about we make Alfred give her that talk, huh? Just like you did for me."

"And me." Tim added.

"I was the first one who he gave that talk to." Dick said, smiling.

"Actually, it was me." Bruce said. "And I'm not talking about **the talk**."

"What talk?" I asked, completely in the dark on this one.

"He hasn't had it with me." Damian said, coming back into the room, and glaring at me, "Who stole my pie?"

"Rango." I said, "Now, what talk?"

Mom looked at dad, eyes wide, "Jason, you never gave her the talk?"

He looked at her sternly, "Kim, if she was a boy, I would have talked until she, well, I guess he, paid me to stop. However, she is a female, and call me cliché, but I think it's best a woman gave her that talk."

Dick piped up, "I tried to make her watch a video about it when she asked me where babies came from during her first week here, but she refused because, and I quote, TV rots your brain cells."

Damian grabbed my last yeast roll, "Todd, you obviously gave into television. How weak minded."

I growled, "Put. That. Roll. Down. Now."

He glared at me, and slowly set it back on my plate, walking away again.

"Cool demon child is gone, Now what talk?" I asked.

Mom glared at Dad, "Guess who's gonna give her that talk."

Dad gulped, "Me?" he whispered.

"Oh yeah." Mom said, leaving.

I turned to dad, "What talk?"

Dad cleared his throat, "Well, uh… You see Justin… When a woman and a man… uh… DICK WHERE'S THAT VIDEO!"

Uncle Dick smirked, getting up and walking out, "Sorry Jason, that's cheating. Call me if he lives till morning Bruce."

Dad turned to Tim, "Tim, I'm sure you've got a book somewhere-"

Tim shook his head, heading to the door as well, "Kim would kill me if I made it easy on you."

Kenya took off, not wanting to miss Regular Show. Jason gave one pleading look towards Bruce's chair, but he was already gone.

Dad looked back to me, "Um…"

I raised an eyebrow, "I'm guess it has to do with where babies come from?"

"Yes, and well… other things… so, uh…" he stuttered, trying to find his voice, until I held up a hand.

"Three hundred, and Mom gets convinced you chatted my ears off until my face turned red." I offered.

He paused, then glared at me, "You already know."

"I was raised by you, of course I know." I said, rolling my eyes, "Three hundred."

He cursed, pulling out his wallet, and counting out the bills. I took them, smirking and walking out of the room confidently.

JASON'S POINT OF VEIW:

That girl was really about to get smacked, the little smart alec. She thinks she's so bad? I'll show her, she's so annoying, I'll…

Oh who am I kidding? I'm way to proud.


	42. Sleep

Now that I was back at DR, I could see what a good job Kyler had done as leader. I wasted no time in going over mission reports, and realized that Kyler had been more than ready for leadership. In the month I had been gone, they had stopped three bank robberies, one gang war, and had found two serial killers in Star City, five bank robberies and three gang wars in Metropolis, and six bank robberies, five gang wars, and about six serial killers in Gotham. What can I say? I was proud of this team.

The second thing I did was look over Raphael's reports. His relationship with the team was getting worse and worse, they all downright hated him by now. However, it did not affect the team's performance, or effort. His agility, it sucked, and so did his fighting, but his powers were progressing three percent weekly.

I frowned, if this continued, how long until it got to be to much? My eyes scanned over the file again, resting on the date in the upper right hand corner. His birthday was in five days. I sighed, not one else would get the kid anything, I might as well.

**AT THE WAYNE MANSION:**

"Damian, I need a favor." I said, walking up behind Damian in the Bat cave. He sat in front of the computer, frowning.

"What is it Todd." He spat.

I sighed, "Flame proof shoes."

He paused, turning around in his chair to look at me, sizing me up. "For Strook?"

"Yeah."

"His birthday?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Yeah." I said, then blinked, "Sorry. No one else will get him anything."

"Get him a gift card." He said, turning around.

I glared at him, and grabbed the chair, spinning it around and slamming my fist next to his head. "He does not need a gift card Damian. Every time he loses control of his powers, his shoes melt. It's a hassle getting him new ones ever few days."

"So? Not my problem." He said.

I sighed, pulling my fist back, and begging him with my eyes. "Damian, I'm asking you as a friend."

He set his jaw, staring at me for a few minutes, before exploding. "Are you kidding me with those eyes!"

I shrugged, "I'll look at you for the rest of my life like this little D, I swear I will."

He groaned, "Fine! I'll make him some shoes!"

I smirked, loosing the puppy dog eyes, "Thanks Damian."

I walked away, victory to the Todd!

**DAMIAN'S POINT OF VEIW:**

"Stupid girl." I mumbled, typing hastily on the computer, trying to figure out which non-flammable material to use for the stupid shoes.

"Manipulative, idiotic, user!" I growled, selecting several materials, and then trying to decide on a specific design.

"She's such a…. such a…. a Todd!" I roared, slamming my fists down on the keyboard. "I HATE ALL YOU TODDS!"

"Careful." Father said, walking past me towards the bat mobile. "Jason might hear you."

"You're going patrolling?" I asked.

"Yes." He said, "I assume you're coming?"

"Yes." I said, saving my work, and rushing after him. Patrolling with Grayson had felt a bit more… welcoming. Was it so bad I wished he were here, instead of my father?

**JUSTIN'S POINT OF VEIW:**

I frowned, reading that verse of the Bible again. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's gift was eternal life, huh? Well what did I have to do for it? I kept reading, but I couldn't find a clear answer anywhere. I sighed. The Bible was as hard to understand as Chinese! That language, it was like all the buttons you never push on a calculator!

I shook my head, pushing it away, this thing was never clear. I shoved it into my nightstand drawer, and slammed it shut, flopping back onto my bed. There was no understanding that book, or Gabriel.

I laid in bed for awhile, but I couldn't sleep. I sighed, getting up and walking down the hall to my parents room. I carefully turned the door knob, and peeked in, seeing Mom laying in bed. I swallowed, opening the door and walking in.

She looked up at me, "Are you okay baby?"

"Yeah Mom." I mumbled, "I was just wondering…" I had no idea how to ask if I could sleep with them tonight. I was raised until I was ten in a _broom closet_ that they passed off as a bedroom, by the devil's spawn Dunya. Then I was raised with one of the most cold, non-feeling men ever, Jason Todd. This was a weakness, and I didn't know if I should ask.

She smiled though. "You wanna sleep in here tonight."

Behind me, Dad suddenly appeared. "Great, cause it's my night off."

If it wasn't for my advanced training, I would have jumped, but instead, I settled for crawling into bed beside Mom, and Dad crawled in beside me. "Not a word to anyone."

"Agreed." Dad mumbled, yanking the covers over his head.

"Your secret's safe with me." Mom said, rolling over and snuggling into her pillow.

"If you hear her moaning in the middle of the night, just cover your ears." Dad said, I started laughing, but Mom smacked his forehead.

"Jason!"

I love my family.

**ELSEWHERE:**

Everything was on schedule, everything I've strove to achieve, for my entire life, it's all falling into place. My wife stood to my left, and the woman across from me nodded in respect to us both. I have workers, some mindless, some smart. The smart ones I've saved, cherished, and promoted. The weak and stupid ones I've either eliminated, or kept at the bottom.

There's one thin missing though, one that I still need, and after years of trying, I don't have it. According to the doctors, I'll never have it.

The woman walks foreword. "Everything is ready on my end. The girl has been damages, and angered. We've poked the beast, and she's responded. Though not in the way we had hoped."

"You didn't break her?" My wife asks, frowning at this disappointment.

"She refused to kill, and no matter what lengths I tried, she made it impossible for me." The woman says.

"So in other words, you've failed us." My wife snaps, and the woman flinches.

"No, I did what I was asked, but she's just evolved to much. She's been brainwashed, and brainwashed willingly." The woman answers. "As I told you, I deliver on my deals, and she'll be here within the month."

"When should we expect her?" I asked, speaking for the first time.

"I can't be sure when, but I will try to send her as soon as possible. The boom tube is unpredictable at best, and I can't guarantee a specific day, **but**, within the month, I assure you." She says, and then takes out a piece of paper, "You requested a photo."

I take it, looking at our soon to be guest. Kim's red hair and blue eyes, but everything else is Jason's. The costume, the colors are Jason's, but the style is Kim's.

My wife smiles, "She'll be here soon."

I nod, kissing her forehead.

As I've said, I have everything, money, power, a loving wife, anything a man could possibly want, except an heir.


	43. WHAT IS A BOOM TUBE?

Dad raised an eyebrow at me, and then glared, realizing I was serious, "No."

"Why not?" I asked. I didn't personally see any reason why I could accept the offer that Bruce had offered to DR. Working hand in hand on an equal table with the Teen Titans. We wouldn't merge, but we would be considered equal in the eyes of the Justice League, and equal was one stop on the road to being better.

"Because I said so." He said, glaring at me.

"That's no reason!" I protested.

"It's my reason." He said. He turned away from me, back to the TV.

"But Dad, that's not fair!" I protested.

"Life isn't fair." He said, not looking back at me.

"There's no reason I shouldn't be able to do that." I said. "You're a member of the Justice League, all I would be doing is working with them whenever they need a little help."

"I said no." He said firmly, looking over his shoulder to glare at me, then turning back around to watch football. "This conversation is over."

"The hell it is!" I protested. "I'm not ten years old anymore Dad, I think I have every right to tell Grandpa that DR accepts the offer."

He glared at me again, "Justin, you will not accept. I **forbid **it."

"You can do that!" I said. "I'm not a child anymore Dad, you can't just keep telling me what to do! The whole reason I started DR was to out rank the Teen Titans! And now when I'm finally starting to do it, you try to pull the plug. Why?"

"You're sure acting like a child." He said bitterly. "Pitching a fit when I tell you no."

"Because there's no real reason to say no!" I argued.

"Obviously there is." He said. "Now, like I said earlier, this conversation is **over**."

"Yeah. You're right it is, and it doesn't matter." I said, crossing my arms. "I want this and you're not taking it away from me. DR's answer is yes."

He stood up, glaring at me, "You think you're an adult, but you're not! You're a child, and this right here proves it! Every time I tell you no, you just go ahead and do it anyway! The tournament, and now this! Really? You're not doing this."

"Go ahead and stop me!" I challenged. "Like it or not, I am an adult and I have every right to make this decision myself!"

"No you aren't!" He shouted, "You're my daughter, and like it or not, I'm not ready to have you die on some insane mission the Teen Titans give you! I've known you for a grand total of five years-"

"AND WHO'S FAULT IS THAT!" I thundered, with a tone Batman might be jealous of. "It's your fault I got kidnapped! If you had actually been more observant, you would have seen Mom was pregnant! It's your fault I got kidnapped! Everything wrong with me is all because of you!"

Dad's eyes widened, and he actually took a step back, I had never argued with him like this before. I usually backed down by now, and I had never accused him of everything being his fault.

"This is one thing in my life that my last name might not ruin, don't screw this up for me!" I shouted, running out of the house.

It was only once I got to DR that I fully realized what I had said. I sighed, sitting down in front of the computer. I slumped in my chair, slapping my forehead. "There's a spot in Arkum with my name on it, I know there is."

Kyler walked into the room, glaring at me. Crap, what did I do this time? I expected it to be something about my latest prank, which had been painting all of Green Arrow's arrows pink, however, it was worse. "When are you gonna let them join?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"Gabriel, Mary, and Michael." She said, crossing her arms at me.

My eyes widened. "What?"

"When are you gonna let them join?" Kyler asked, "They helped out a lot while you were gone, didn't you read the reports?"

"Yeah, they helped out with two bank robberies, big deal." I said, rolling my eyes.

"And they took care of a good amount of crime on their own. Let them join." Kyler said, firm in her orders.

"If they ask, then fine." I said, knowing they wouldn't.

"Extend an invitation." She said, glaring at me.

"No." I said firmly.

"What do you have against them joining?" She sassed.

"Because." I said, grinding my teeth, "This is my team. My team, with my team mates. They can have their own team."

"They've already expressed an interest in joining." Kyler said, glaring at me again. "And there's nothing wrong with taking new members in."

"This team was supposed to be just us." I corrected. "Us against them! No one else was supposed to come!"

Kyler raised an eyebrow. "You just want friends here?"

"Exactly." I said, sighing. "Raphael was enough."

"How do you expect to take the Teen Titan's spot as the best teenage heroes out there if we don't expand?" She asked. "I mean, if we don't take them, Teen Titans will. Then, they'll just get better. If they get better, you know what that means."

I bit my lip, "We go down a few pegs."

"Exactly." Kyler said, giving a solemn nod.

"Okay, I'll consider it, If not, I'm just gonna put up a sign outside the building that says 'meta humans welcome, and recruit _whoever _is dumb enough to come inside."

She laughed, "Good luck with that!"

"You'd be surprised." I said, "Me manipulating idiotic people is easier than Tim Drake stalking Batman."

"You aren't Tim Drake." She said, smirking.

"I guess not." I said. "Batman being Bruce Wayne would have been obvious to me without Dick Grayson's circus act."

She looked at me in disbelief. "You cannot _possibly _be that arrogant."

"You continue to underestimate me." I said, ending the conversation. Once again, I had proved to have the biggest ego in this building. Oh yeah, I'm still top dog!

Suddenly, the alarm started blaring, and I quickly brought up the emergency, downtown riot started by a teenage no name gang, Gotham City. Normally I'd let Bruce handle it, but I think it's one of his 'days off' where Alfred tells him he can only leave the house if we can't handle it. Never let it be said I could not handle a downtown riot. Kenya could take care of that, literally. She's getting good at throwing knives.

We all rushed to the garage, me calling out orders. "Kerosene, Snow, you're on crowd control, Conan, Kyler, you're with me on taking down the gang. Let's not let any civilians die today. That looks very bad on my report."

Kerosene jumped onto a motorcycle Bruce had donated, Conan got tired of carrying Snow and Kerosene where we were going.

We got on scene, and everyone leapt into action. Me and Kyler quickly started firing at the gang members, which were kind of hard to distinguish from the civilians, but hey, we've all done this before, even Raphael. Being gone just opened my eyes to what we were now, a team.

By the time most of the civilians had left the area, we had already subdued the gang. Gabriel, Mary, and Michael showed up near the end, trying to be all important and fight with us. I just rolled my eyes, ignoring them.

I looked over the unconscious teenage boys, and my eyes drifted to one in particular. Shaggy dirty blonde hair, and green eyes. I knew him, he was Dawn's partner in the Tournament of Assassins.

My eyes widened as I realized what this riot really was. It wasn't stupid teenagers messing around, it was an attempt to get at me.

The boy pulled something out of his jacket, a cylinder as thick as my wrist. Call me crazy but to me it looked just like a bomb. I ran over to him, shouting in Russian. "Net, stop! Ne delaĭte etogo !" _No, stop! Don't do it!_

To late.

He pressed one button, and threw it towards me, I caught it, kneeling down on the ground with it as Kyler fired a knock out gas arrow at the boy, who was soon turning up Z's.

I fiddled with it, trying to figure out how it worked, but the mere design of it took me back. It had buttons upon buttons, one of them was blinking rapidly, it had the number 89 on it.

There was no wiring, not indication that this thing was even a bomb. Actually, I was pretty sure that it wasn't a bomb at all. I frowned, as the beeping got louder. I looked around wildly, I wasn't going to take any chances, it might just be a bomb.

My heart nearly stopped when my team started coming closer to me, ignorant of the device. Suddenly, the beeping stopped, and I panicked, throwing it at Mary, who caught it instinctively.

Michael stared at the device, "What the-"

Light burst out from the device, engulfing just Mary and Michael first, but spread quickly, engulfing all of us in a matter of seconds. I felt a force, nothing I could see, pull me with surprising strength towards something. What exactly, I didn't know.

Right before it yanked me off my feet, my com link lit up, my father's voice. **"Justin get out of there! It's a boom-"**

My own scream cut him off as I was yanked off me feet, and pulled headfirst into something I could only describe as a tunnel made of blue and white light. It spun around, and I found myself falling, endlessly. I looked to my right, to see Mary holding the device, trying not to accidentally push a button, while Michael gripped onto her for dear life. Must be afraid of heights, or swirling vortexes.

"Mary, toss it!" I ordered.

She tossed it over to me, and I caught it carefully, looking over it, "Of course, it's a boom tube! I thought it was a bomb!"

"You thought it was a bomb, and you threw it at me!" She asked, appalled. When was she not appalled at me?

"It was you or me, and to be honest I hate you." I explained.

"What's a boom tube?" Michael asked, gripping onto Mary tighter.

Gabriel glared over at me, "You threw what you thought was a bomb at Mary!"

"Oh shut up, no one cares about your girlfriend right now!" Raphael shouted, "We are spiraling through something that looks like a bad laundry detergent commercial!"

"I think I'm gonna throw up." Michael said, putting his hand over his mouth as we started to spin. I was getting nauseous too, but not that much.

"What's a boom tube?" Raphael called out.

"A boom tube is a slang expression for a fictional extra-dimensional point-to-point travel portal ." Snow called out. "It allows people to travel interstellar distances, and between dimensions, quickly by creating an apparent tube between two points through which people can travel."

"What?" Chorused Raphael and Michael.

"We're being teleported!" I screamed.

"Where?" They both asked, and Kyler positioned herself so she was falling feet first, trying to look directly at me, awaiting an answer as well. They all were.

I bit my lip, running a few numbers in my head, then looking down at the boom tube. "An alternate dimension."

Snow turned around in mid air, hanging upside down as she tried to face me. "Which one!"

Raphael looked up at me, flailing around wildly. "There's more than one?"

"Stop talking!" I ordered, looking at the button that had been pushed. "89, I think."

"There's 89 alternate dimensions?" Asked Michael.

"No we're going to the 89th one!" I shouted, "I don't know how many there are, hundreds, maybe thousands!"

"Is 89 a dimension I should know about?" Kyler asked.

"I don't recall it." I said, shaking my head as we started to slow down. "Everyone grab on, we might get separated!" I trust my hand into the middle, the one that wasn't holding the boom tube creator, and everyone grabbed on for dear life, as we were deposited on the ground.

I moaned, having landed on something very hard, and someone had then fallen on top of me. I shoved the person off, turned out to be Gabriel, and then looked at what was underneath me, and then jumped back, landing on Conan.

"Ow! Get off!" She said, shoving me off, then looking towards what had spooked me, a human rib cage.

She backed up gasping, and I stood up, frowning, and looked around, "Whoa."

The sky was dark red, lined with black clouds, and bits of ash flying through the air. I whistled low, "Wow, this looks like the kind of place Lex Luther would go for vacation."

"Uh, Justin, you're gonna wanna look at this." Raphael said.

I turned around, to see him gazing behind me, pointing. I followed his gaze, to see towers upon towers of dead bodies, rotting in the blistering heat.

"Dear Lord…" Conan said, breathlessly.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." Mary breathed.

Michael shot her a look, and she glared at him, "Yeah, I said it!"

"Okay, enough with the Christian cursing." I ordered.

Gabriel finally spoke up, "There's shelter at least, that way."

He pointed beyond the piles of bodies, and I looked, the shadow of a city, miles away. Wrong day to not grab your motorcycle before jumping into the boom tube.

I sighed, glaring up at the orange sun, it had to be at least ninety degrees out here, and I was wearing body armor, combat boots, a helmet, and a leather jacket. Perfect.


	44. First Fight

By the time we finally got to the edge of the city, sweat was pooling up underneath my helmet, another inch or so, and I would be drowning in my own helmet. My suit had an air-conditioning system in it, like everyone's in the bat family, but my helmet, no. No it did not.

We must have walked about ten miles or so, and when we finally got there, we realized how foolish coming here had been. There were no people around, and the buildings were hardly standing.

Mary spoke up, "Where is everyone?"

"Dead." I snapped. "Those bodies out there, I'm guessing that's were all the people went."

Snow spoke up, "They have not been dead very long, only a few weeks."

"How can you tell?" Michael asked.

"I am a necromancer, the dead are my specialty." She said.

Mary, Michael, and Gabriel looked shocked to say the least. Mary then glared at snow, who turned to me, "Did I say something wrong?"

Mary glared harder, "You're a necromancer, a heathen."

Conan immediately stepped forward, "Don't talk to her like that! You've got your religion, she's got hers, so back off!"

Snow looked upset, and a bit scared at Mary's hostility, "I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Don't apologize." Kyler said, stepping into the scene.

I looked towards the horizon, the sun was slowly setting, thank God!

"They insulted you." Kyler continued, crossing her arms at Mary, "Conan is right, back off, now."

"Not like I slapped her across the face." Mary spat.

Michael put a hand on her shoulder, "Enough Mary, we don't need to do this now."

Mary gave Snow a look, "You disgust me, I would gladly hunt down and kill your kind."

"Getting late." I said, and everyone looked towards me, "We might wanna consider what we're gonna do for shelter, cause it'll be really cold once night sets in." I said, "It's already dropped a few degrees."

They looked at the setting sun as well, then around at all the buildings. None of them seemed fit to stay in.

Suddenly, someone screamed out, "Are you guys insane!"

We all whirled around to see a girl standing over to the right, she had long dusty red hair that was pulled back into a high pony, and extremely pale skin, she looked like she hadn't come out in days. She didn't belong in this climate.

I reached up, pulling my helmet off, and about an handful of sweat rushed out, dripping down my jacket and red body armor, and spoke, "Well that depends on who you're asking. Me, yes. The rest of them, no."

"This isn't funny!" She screamed, "Get inside, the rain is coming!"

"Seems to me a little rain could do this place good." Mary said, scoffing.

Conan shook her head, "She didn't say rain, she said raid."

"Raid?" Asked Kyler.

The girl screamed out again, "Get over here, before they come!"

"Before who comes?" I screamed back, "The raid? Who's that?"

A look of terror crossed the girl's face, and she just pointed into the sky behind us. I looked over my shoulder, to see a woman with orange skin and glowing green eyes, hands covered in purple/pink energy, and a murderous look in her eye.

"Oh, would you look at that?" Kyler said, "We're about to meet a naughty angel. This should be fun for you Michael."

"… God give me strength." Michael begged as the figure floated down.

That's when it hit me, I knew this scantily dressed chick. "Star Fire?" I whispered, but she didn't respond to the name.

"Why do you not run and hide?" She thundered, floating about ten feet above us.

"Cause the view is to good baby!" Michael called up to her, and Mary smacked him.

"Dude! You're a holy man, act like it!"

"Hide?" Snow asked, looking over her shoulder "Why would we…"

I turned to look to, the girl was gone, and I hadn't even heard her leave, or sensed her leave. Ghost. Only logical explanation.

Suddenly, Star Fire started shooting her energy at us, and I dropped my helmet, rolling out of the way quickly, and bringing out my newest gun, a Z pistol Grandpa George had given me last week, and started firing, but she deflected them easily, swooping down towards me, and out of the way of two arrows Kyler had fired at her.

She tried to grab my arm with the gun, but I jumped out of the way again, and Mary tossed the boom tube to Michael, and pulled out a metal pen shaped like a cross, pushing the button. It quickly transformed into a giant war hammer, and she charged at Star Fire, swinging wildly.

"Virgin Mary's dead." I mumbled, as Star Fire floated just out of Mary's reach teasing her. "Maybe not."

I shot at Star Fire, but the gun was empty. "Whoops, out of ammo!"

"I'm not!" Kyler shouted, firing an arrow at Star Fire, only for it to be knocked away by another arrow.

Me and her both whirled around to look at the new attacker, a man dressed in black and red Kevlar, no skin showing, including his face. He was holding a red bow and arrows, in a stance mirroring hers in ever way. She smirked, facing him, and loading her bow, "This is gonna be fun."

Star Fire picked up Mary by her throat, hurling her at me. I jumped out of the way, letting her sprawl across the ground. I laughed, pointing at her, "You should see your face, cause you look like you're in-"

Star Fire grabbed the back of my jacket collar, slamming me face first into the ground.

"… Serious pain." I moaned.

She jerked me upwards, letting me hang in front of her so we were eye to eye, "You look familiar."

"Hi!" I said, giving her a small wave, "Yeah, you don't know me, but your ex-lover is my uncle!"

She gave me a look that said, 'you are insane' and said, "You can not possibly be the child we were instructed to pick up."

"Uh huh." I said, looking over my shoulder to see Kyler and the archer exchanging arrows, firing multiple ones. Kyler's trick arrows were, for lack for a better word, tricky to maneuver, but the variety of attacks was to much of a temptation. The other archer used normal arrows, which were faster and easier to use, not only that, but his skill was obviously better. Kyler would not go down so easily though.

Star Fire through me to the side, "You are a waste of my time, weakling."

I smirked, taking out my kris knife and hurling it right at her eye, she flew out of the way, and Conan quickly joined her in flight, exchanging blows. Kryptonian against Tameranian.

Kerosene ran in-between Kyler and the strange archer, lighting up his fists, "Back off Robin Hood!"

The man fired arrows at Raphael, but he dodge the first and second, the third one imbedded itself into his shoulder, but he ignored it, throwing flaming punches at the archer.

The archers dodged them easily, and I quickly loaded my gun, aiming at Star Fire as she and Conan circled each other in the air, strength meeting strength, flight meeting flight, and pink energy meeting my bullets.

Gabriel joined Kerosene in fighting the archers, while Kyler desperately tried to get a clear shot with two boys frequently shifting in front of the man she was trying to shoot. That was a knock out gas arrow, she just needed one window of opportunity.

Star fire suddenly got a lucky shot on Conan, punching her diaphragm, and then her face, knocking her out cold. "Great job Blooper Kid." I growled, reloading my gun.

I nearly shot Raphael's head off as he was throw into me, my gun being knocked away. "Idiot!" I hissed, shoving him off of me and trying to grab my gun. Conan was thrown harshly into Kyler, and they both landed on top of my gun.

I cursed out loud, and then watched as the archer aimed at Kyler, who couldn't see the oncoming attack. I had three seconds, at best, but probably no more than one and a half. I could let her take that hit, sure, but he's aiming for her heart, and that's a fatality. Not now, not in this very confusing day will I lose Kyler. Not my good soldier. If it was Mary, I wouldn't care. I probably wouldn't care if it was Raphael, or Tyler as Conan and snow had taken to calling him because of his middle name. But this was Kyler, and she's my good fighter, and I'll need her later, if we really just got transported by a boom tube.

"MOVE!" I screamed, jumping in front of her, as the arrow sunk into my shoulder. I kept standing, as he loaded his gun once more, and Kyler stood up next to me, Conan and Raphael too, forming a small circle. Michael walked over to us, cradling the boom tube carefully. That's why he hadn't fought, he didn't want the boom tube to get bumped, and open another portal. Gabriel soon did handsprings away from the archer, and Mary joined our circle, I was facing Star Fire, along with Mary, Conan, and Michael. Kyler faced the archer along with Raphael, Gabriel, and Snow.

We all stared at each other, weapons drawn, ready to attack each other and fight to the finish. The archer spoke up, shattering the silence. "Maybe one of these are the kids we were supposed to pick up. They obviously aren't from around here."

"He gave clear descriptions, red hair and blue eyes." Star Fire said.

My eyes widened beneath my Domino mask's lenses, and I looked over my shoulder at Kyler. There were only two people here with red hair, and while she had brown eyes, I was the only one with blue. But lots of people had red hair and blue eyes, right?

"Which one of you is the Black Hood?" The archer asked.

My eyes flickered to my helmet, resting a few yards away, with my new gun. I was holding a different one now, nothing to fancy, just a USP.45. Who am I kidding? This is one bad to the bone gun. Would be, if guns had bones.

Star fire glared, "No need to be so blunt with them all Roy. You, pathetic weaklings, which one of you is Justin Todd, daughter of Jason Todd?"

I kept my features blank, and the archer, I suppose his name was Roy- wait, Roy? Hmm, how many Roy's did I know who could handle a bow like that? One. Might be a coincidence.

"I'm with you, whatever you wanna do." Kyler whispered. She had my back, not matter what I wanted to do, turn myself in, fight, or run. That was comforting.

"If they're just after her, do you think they'd let us go?" Mary asked. Couldn't really blame her for thinking that way, but she was dead wrong.

"Who do you think killed all those rotting corpses? The girl from earlier?" Snow asked.

Mary glared at her, "I wasn't asking you, **necromancer**, but out."

"Don't talk to her that way-"

"Shut up!" I barked, and then frowned, whispering "Yeah Mary, they'll just kill you. They might just shoot me here and now, but because they said pick up, they'll be taking me alive, probably. Take me somewhere else, then eventually kill me there. I don't know what it is they want, but it'll most likely end up with me dead."

"So what do we do?" Michael whispered.

I bit my lip, "Kyler, you're Justin, strike a deal."

She nodded, stepping forward, "I am Justin Todd, daughter of Jason Todd. Whatever you want with me, I'll gladly oblige, if my team is let go unharmed, and you bring no harm to them in the future."

Star Fire scoffed, "You are no daughter of Jason Todd, you look nothing like him."

"I look like my mother." Kyler brushed off. Lying, best invention, ever!

"You look nothing like Kimberly Mathilda either. You do not act like Jason Todd, you are a terrible actor."

"I'm gonna make you watch the worst movie ever when we get back home." Raphael hissed, "Even their acting is better than yours!"

"Yeah, and you're roots are starting to show kid." Roy said, laughing, aiming his bow at me, "There's our lucky girl."

"Crap." I said, and Star Fire stepped closer, I aimed at her, "Back off!"

She came closer, not thinking I would pull the trigger. "Don't come any closer, or I _will _shoot!"

She walked closer, and I fired, right at her legs. She flew out of the way, aiming her fist at my face. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground, and my vision going black.


	45. Roy Kori and Jason

A big room, filled with kids. Teenagers, children, from ten to eighteen. We were there too, but although I had a hole in my shoulder, Conan was being controlled with a small piece of kryptonite, Gabriel had gotten a pretty bad bump on the head, Mary was unconscious from an even bigger bump, Kerosene had accidentally burned himself (Idiot), Michael had a broken wrist, and Kyler had two black eyes, we were probably the healthiest kids here.

All the others were malnourished, looked like they hadn't eaten in weeks, I know how that feels, how that looks. That's it then, whoever these guys are taking us to, they're the one who killed all those people, leaving them to rot in the sun's heat. Only question left, is why take us here? More extermination? Wouldn't make sense, they could have just killed us there. I know why I'm here, the boss wants me. Why? Not sure, but I'll find out.

Someone entered the room, two someone's actually. One was a woman with deep blue hair, dyed obviously, I could see the very tips of her roots, red. The other, was the one that really made me want to faint, because of the way people reacted to him, this was the boss. He was the one who had either issued the killings, or done it himself. I knew he could do it himself too, because apart form his obvious athletic body, and the murderous intent in every step he took, I knew this man.

My father, Jason Todd.

I was mistaken before, the only real question that mattered now was this: what kind of screwed up dimension are we in?

Kyler gave me a sideways look, and I ignored it. This man might look like my father, but he isn't my real one, this is just some other dimensions Red Hood. He's got the red domino mask on, and I suddenly understand the looks the other kids are giving us, wondering why we're here.

In this dimension, every hero is either dead, or really a villain. I can gather that much, that there aren't any saviors, no Batman, Superman, nothing. Out costumes distinguish us as one of them, one of their oppressors. So, that girl from earlier, who told us to run, if we can be so easily mistaken for an oppressor, why did she see we weren't, and try to help us?

My thoughts were shattered as Kori and Roy moved to join them both in the center of the room, taking the kryptonite with them. Conan was now freed, but to no avail. In this situation, a fight was the last thing we wanted. To many civilians in the way, not enough exits. They'd get hurt, even more so than they already were.

I quickly glanced around the room, guards at every door, along every wall, to the right of every group of children. It was strange though, there were more guards around the younger children than there were around the older ones. It didn't make sense. The older ones could fight much better than the younger ones, which only left the option that the younger ones were just more valuable to them. Why?

Finally, Dad/this dimensions Red Hood (note to self, come up with good name for him later to distinguish between the two now knowledgeable Dads) started to speak, "You've all been told horrible things about us, that we killed nearly everyone for no real cause, that we're simple a modern group of Nazis creating another holocaust. That we're the bad guys, it's not true."

"Justin," Kyler whispered. "What's the plan."

"Slip out undetected." I replied. "Is Virgin Mary awake yet?"

I growl answered my question, "Don't think I've forgotten about you throwing what you thought was a bomb at me."

"We are simply giving order to a world in chaos." He continued. Yep, this guy has Hitler written all over him. "To do so, we have to purge the wicked from the good, you all have been found good, which is why you are still alive."

"Thought you'd be happy to go up with Big Man and all His angels, Mary." I mocked.

"You will be given shelter here, away from the darkness of the world, under the caring and never wavering instruction of myself and my generals." He explained, "You will be taught," Brainwashed. "Trained," Tortured. "And cared for." Spied on.

I turned to look over my shoulder at them. "Just follow my lead."

I calmly and surely walked out of the group we had been put in, heading for the door, when a guard stuck his sword in front of me, "Halt!"

He shoved me back, and I easily caught myself, however, it attracted attention. Good.

Jason, I guess I should just call him that considering I always call the Red Hood of my dimension Dad, looked up, and for a moment, his face held nothing but excitement, as if he had been long awaiting someone to defy in this little meeting.

He slowly and deliberately walked towards me alone, although it was obvious that my whole group had been following my escape attempt. Lame escape attempt, I know, but escape wasn't what was on my mind. Cause a scene, that's what I needed, and I've done it. So far, so good.

He stopped right in front of me, and I began to see little differences between Dad and Jason here. They carry themselves different. I can tell by the way Dad walks, he knows he's good at what he does, really good at it, but doesn't flaunt it, he doesn't think he's good enough. Jason though, he knew he didn't have to be better, from what I see here, he's got the whole world (probably not thought the world is a big place) in the palm of his hand.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, knowing that we were trying to get out. "You were told to stay put, over there."

"We're not with them." I dismissed, "We're just passing through."

"So, nothing here interests you?' He asked, "You have no desire to see more, to become purged?"

"Can't say I do." I said smugly, "But I will take a piece of him."

I nodded to the guard who had stopped us. I've seen this all the time on movies, the hard assed hero showing off in front of the big boss.

Jason raised an eyebrow, "You want to fight?" I nodded. "Then be my guest."

Everyone within a reasonable distance backed off, and the guard lifted his sword, trying to bring it down on my head. I stepped out of the way, and he staggered forward. He got his footing, turning around to slash at me again. I ducked under his blade, driving my knee into his groin, and then taking two steps to the left, avoiding his next slash.

Dad's lessons have proven to really work. I block, I counter, I wear my enemy down, but I do not go for the kill. Not yet.

I easily stepped away from the guard's attacks, he had his form down well, but his attacks, to hasty, not good timing. He was rushing it. The fight wasn't fair, not for him anyways. It took such little mental effort, I allowed my thoughts to drift for several seconds.

"**You've improved, I'll give you that." Jason said, as I panted, glancing down at the maimed body in front of me.**

**One of the many people considered the scum of the Earth to Jason, a pimp who ran a prostitution business centering mainly around younger teenage girls and a few boys. Not one of them was over seventeen, all of them from America, Germany, or Africa, not a single one Russian, and considering that's where we were at currently, it puzzled me.**

"**But you're still not quite getting it. You let your survival instincts take over to often, you tend to play on the defense all the time. You need to remember, attack with unrestrained rage." He put a hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eye. "You're not in danger anymore, you can afford to be offensive. Let yourself get angry."**

**I slowly nodded, anger, and most other emotions had been closed off to me long ago. Jason was slowly helping me take them out one by one, whenever I needed them.**

"**Next time, I want to see you whipping out dome eye gouging and neck breaking, okay? No cheap collar bone shots."**

**I nodded again, "Yes sir."**

"**Jason." He reminded me, for probably the one hundredth time.**

I stepped to the side once more, letting the man lean forward, watching for it. His left foot shifted slightly, there! That's his blink, his one second where he's completely vulnerable, where I can do anything and he can't block it.

I shot out my right leg, into the side of his knee. Snap! I jumped up, high kicking his chin, then using the force gravity gave me to really put some power behind the elbow that then dug into his collar bone. Shatter. I landed perfectly, spinning around in what probably looked like a little red and black twister, that's how fast I was going, and my right heel cut across his nose. Crack! Fist to the throat, bruise windpipe, don't crush it. No killing, never killing. I grabbed the front of his shirt, squatting down low and flipping him over my shoulders. He landed on the ground like a boulder falling form a cliff. My knee quickly followed, shoving all my weight down onto the very bottom tip of his sternum, breaking it into tiny little pieces.

I stood up slowly, all eyes on me. My eyes travel to the woman who walked in with Jason, and it's no surprise that it's the dimensions Kimberly Mathilda. Looks like this one died her hair instead of just using a wig like my Mom.

My parents, probably bending over backwards to find me right now. When I get home, Bruce is gonna ground me, cause I know Mary's gonna tell him I knowingly threw what I thought was a bomb at her without bothering to defuse it.

Jason walked forward, carefully taking the sword form the unconscious guard's hand, and turning to me, "That was Black Lightning, he was one of my best."

I raised an eyebrow, "Was?"

In a split second, the sword was brought down, and the head severed. I couldn't stop my eyes from widening, and my jaw from going slightly slack. Jason took the blade back up to eye level, using two leather glove covered fingers to swipe the blood off, and held it out to me, "In this government, you keep what you kill. Congratulations, you're a general now."

"… Pass." I said. "Like I said, just passing through."

He just chuckled, shaking his head, then turning to look at Roy and Kori, nodding to them, "Take her to my office."

He gave my team a sideways look, "And as for them… process them."

A series of gasps and whispers rang throughout the crowd, apparently being processed wasn't good. Roy and Kori made their way towards us, and I knew I had to strike a deal, and fast.

"No." I said quickly, "Don't."

Jason raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

Roy stepped up behind me, grabbing one shoulder while Kori grabbed the other.

"Whatever you're trying to get me to do, I'll never do it if any harm comes under my team while they're in your care. And if that happens, I'll personally kill you." I spat out, glaring at him in a way that said not only would I kill him, but I would also enjoy it.

He paused, then nodded, "Fine, send them to the holding cells."

I nodded to him, accepting this, and Roy and Kori were quick to drag me away, apparently to Jason's office. I can already tell, this is gonna be a long day.


	46. The Study

His office, looked so much like Bruce's, it was a bit scary. The desk, the bookshelves, the position of everything in the room, a mirror image, but in basic structure and placement only. Bruce's desk had been a dark brown wood color, had been small enough to be convenient, but big enough to hold everything he needed. His chair was dark red leather, and it had wheels on the bottom. The curtains had been a tan color, and the shelves were the same color. Jason's desk was metal, and spray painted black, and just didn't agree in size with the room. The chair was a dark gray color, no wheels. Book shelves were big, reddish-black wood in color. No curtains, just a three sided window, looking out of the facility we were in, towards the wasteland, scattered with ruins. I could almost see the one we had come from.

The facility itself looked horrifying from the outside. A big concrete box, with wire decorating the top, like ivy creeping up an old stone wall. As much as he denied this, this was holocaust, and they were recruiting. Questions formed in my mind, but why kill all those people, that was the one that struck me the most.

Even when Dad had killed people, he had never killed senselessly. There was a very fine line he didn't cross, and he made it clear I was to never cross it either. We kill people who can not be redeemed any other way. To far gone, to unclean, no hope for rehab. Like Joker, Penguin, and any other psychopaths that need a bullet to the brain.

My thoughts drifted back to the bodies, trying to remember everything. They had their clothes on, I couldn't see the wounds the bodies were to decayed. Think Justin, there has to be something, some thing you saw to bring this into the light. Think, you can do this. You can be what Batman is, a detective. Push yourself.

I picked through my brain, trying to remember anything unusual. That's when it struck me, the bodies were all adults. There was not one teenager, one child, one infant. Every single one, was an adult, not one was in their twenties, all must have been thirty at least.

"Enjoying the view?" Came the sudden question as Jason walked in, slowly starting across the floor towards me, standing next to the window

I faced him head on. "Why did you kill them?"

"Who?" He asked innocently, sitting down in his chair and smiling at me as if I was a birthday present he had been wanting for a long time.

"There were piles of bodies where we… we've seen bodies everywhere." I amended. Don't tell him about the boom tube, that's the last thing you need to do right now.

"Oh?" He asked, "Where did you see them?"

I pointed out the window, "Out there, near the remains of a city."

"What makes you think I killed those people?" He asked, the smile changing to a look of tolerance, as if I were a pest he had to put up with.

"From what I've seen so far, you're the only one with authority to issue that kind of slaying." I said.

"Haven't been here long?" He asked, smile still playing on his features.

I shrugged, not giving him a real answer.

He chuckled, "Drop the act kid. You aren't from this dimension, you got in with a boom tube."

The door opened, and Roy walked in, holding the boom tube carefully. Jason smirked, "That boom tube."

I frowned, putting one and two together, "How did you know?"

"Despite the fact that you have obviously no knowledge of what everyone here considers old news and we found you with a boom tube?" He said, toying with me now. "Well, probably because I brought you here."

"… You have a accomplice in my dimension." I said, figuring this out piece by piece.

"Yes, but the correct term would be, old dimension." He said, panic was the first thing that came to mind, but I let it slide. "You won't be leaving."

I raised an eyebrow, "The boy who started that boom tube was an assassin, sent by Talia Al Ghul. I know, I know him, and a girl who worked with him."

"You wanna know what happened to the girl?" Jason asked innocently.

"No, I wanna know how the hell you got Talia Al Ghul to work for you." I said, raising an eyebrow. "No one does that easily."

"She hates you. You were a complete slap in the face to her, a haywire. She sought to regain some dignity, couldn't do that when she couldn't kill the person who took that from her." He explained, "We both wanted the same thing, you here."

"I get that part, but why would you want me here? In my eyes a trigger happy possibly crazy teenage girl who hates you very much is anything but a blessing."

He chuckled, "You're smart, I know you can figure it out. Think, what's the one thing I don't have here?"

I frowned, biting my tongue gently. He had everything he could ever need, but he saw the need to bring me here. A thought struck me, but it was to horrible to consider. "Don't know, don't care. Can I go home now?"

He just laughed, and Roy handed him the boom tube, leaving quickly. Not a good sign.

"I've already told you, you aren't going home." He insisted, fiddling with the boom tube. "You're staying here, you'll never leave."

"I'm sure we can… come to some sort of understanding." I bargained. "I want to leave with my team, you don't. Let's compromise, I beat a guy of your choosing's face into the ground, and you let all of us go home. Straight up."

He laughed, "Love how you added straight up at the end. Tell you what kid, you amuse me, so I'll give you one chance to get out of here. I'll choose some guy for you to fight, and if you win, you and your rag tag band can go home. But if you lose, you all stay."

I took a deep breath, "If I lose, I stay, they go."

That's what a hero would say, that's what they would do, make sure their friends get out no matter what. The words don't sound right in my mouth, I'm not the type to do that, but right now I have to be.

He nodded, "Fine, didn't want them anyway."

He looked towards the door, "Kori!"

Star Fire entered the room, "Yes sir?"

"Take her… wherever you took her friends. She'll stay with them for the night." He ordered.

She nodded, grabbing my shoulder to drag me out of the room. I slapped her away, "I can walk by myself!"

I stormed out of the room, followed closely by Star Fire.

**BACK HOME:**

Jason grabbed the coffee table, picking it up easily and hurling it through the window, shattering it. He screamed in frustration, punching the wall, leaving a dent and not even bothering to tend to his now bloody knuckles.

Tim walked timidly into the room, "Jaso-"

He ducked quickly, the flat screen flying past his head and burying itself a considerable depth into the wall. He stood up straight again, biting his lower lip, before sucking it up, "Jason, this isn't helping anybody."

Jason took a deep breath, glaring at Tim, "My daughter, MY DAUGHTER, just got blasted through the space time continuum to WHO KNOWS WHERE! For all we know, she's on Pluto, already dead from suffocation! She could be on the remains of planet Krypton, being attacked by Darkseid! She could-"

"She could be a few states over, trying to get to a pay phone." Tim said. "Boom tubes aren't reliable at all, especially one made by a human. The boy who triggered it, Bruce has him in the Bat cave, and from what I can tell, he's gonna be a tough nut to crack. You're really angry, so why not take it out on someone who might just know where they all are?"

Jason raised an eyebrow, "All?"

Tim gave him a look, "The whole team got zapped out, remember? The whole team, and those three choir kids from the Catholic Church."

"Oh, interesting… so I guess that means Superboy, Red Arrow, and probably a few Jesus Freaks are gonna be on our door step in a few minutes?"

"Already in the Bat cave, watching Bruce interrogate."

"Why didn't you say so?" Jason asked, brushing past Tim, "I'll stab him in the gut while Conner holds him upside down, and Roy shoves an arrow up his nose while the preachy people quote Psalms."

Tim shook his head, sighing and quickly following Jason to the cave. "If that's not unhealthy male bonding, I don't know what is."

**SEVERAL HOURS LATER:**

Jason growled, yanking his knife out of the boy, while Roy kept his arrow about half an inch deep into the throat, not deep enough to hurt much, and Superboy held him down with no difficulty.

Batman stood several yards away, biting his tongue, trying not a stop them, he knew Jason was taking this to far, but he was desperate to keep his son home, not have him out on the streets again.

"This can go on all night kid." Jason warned.

"Than do it." The boy ordered.

Jason sneered, bringing up his knife again, until a strong feminine voice cut him off, "Stop."

The three fathers look up, to see Kim, clad in her blue jay costume, glaring at them all with suck disdain, Jason couldn't help but stand straight, stepping away from the boy. Batman watched with curiosity as Kim crossed the floor, glaring at the other two men until they backed off of the teenage boy.

"All four of you, get out of here." Kim ordered, "Me and junior are gonna have a long talk."

The four men looked at each other, unsure, before Batman spoke up finally. "Might as well, you weren't getting an answer out of him."

One by one, the exited the cave, and Kim looked over her shoulder at the computer desk. "Robin, come on out. I'm gonna need you anyways."

Damian walked calmly out from behind the computer, raising an eyebrow, "What exactly are you planning on doing that Todd couldn't?"

Kim glowered at the tied up boy in front of her, taking out her butterfly knife. "If your grandfather is as into nature as he says, you should know, Blue Jay's are bullies, especially when you're on their home turf."

**I feel really bad for writing this… None of them deserved this… OH WHY AM I SO CRUEL!**


	47. Batman Needs His Robin

"Absolutely not!" Kyler screamed, jabbing her finger at Justin's face.

"Are you insane!" Raphael shouted, throwing his hands into the air.

"Can we video the fight?" Conan spoke up.

Snow gave her a look, "Did **you **bring a video camera?"

"Point well taken." Conan surrendered.

"Why is our fate decided by you? Sorry but I don't feel comfortable with a jezebel like you deciding that." Mary griped.

"Okay!" I snapped, turning to Mary, "Call me a jezebel again, I'm gonna make you wear Star Fire's costume in front of your whole church." I whipped around to Kyler, "Finger out of my face or I'll bite it off." I looked over my shoulder Raphael, "And no, I'm not insane, my Grandfather had me tested!"

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, looking up from the card game he had going with Michael. "You acted up so bad, your own Grandfather had you tested for insanity?"

"Shut up." I snapped.

"And you're supposed to be our leader?" Conan questioned.

"I've done good so far." I insisted. "Win or lose, you're all going home."

"So you're gambling with your own life?" Kyler asked. "Justin, if we go back to our dimension without you, your dad's just gonna kill us anyways."

"… Your concern overwhelms me." I said sarcastically.

"Justin," Raphael spoke up, "This is serious, you could die, literally die! Who knows what this whack job wants with you?"

"Yeah!" Michael agreed, "He might crucify you!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Crucify me? Really?"

"Horrible death." Gabriel pitched in.

"I can think of worse." I disregarded.

"Don't underestimate the power of crucifixion." Mary warned, standing up, "Gentlemen, ladies," She paused, looking at me, "It… I bid you good night, I'll be sleeping in the hallway."

She walked outside, and I raised an eyebrow at Kyler, "Did I just get saved?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm pretty sure that requires baptism."

"That depends strictly on religion." Conan debated.

"Yeah." Raphael said, "Mary is Roman Catholic, I read her religion requires self inflictment"

"We're sitting right here!" Gabriel complained.

"And underage drinking." Raphael added.

"It's called taking communion!" Michael protested.

"Wine is wine!" I snapped, slipping onto one of the cots that were set out onto the floor. No beds, just cots.

"We are not done talking about this." Kyler protested.

"Well I am." I waved off. "I've got to fight some guy that's probably gonna be a really tough fighter tomorrow, and I'd rather not lose tomorrow because I didn't get enough sleep. Lame way to lose."

I turned over, facing away from her.

I heard Raphael whisper to her, "Well, if she got through the League of Assassins, one fight shouldn't be that hard, right?"

"You're an idiot." Kyler snapped, "Justin, have you even considered the thought that you might have to fight Star Fire? Or even Red Arrow?"

"I'll throw mud in Kori's hair and tell Red Arrow that gingers suck." I offered.

"You're a ginger."

"I'm a red head, not a ginger!" I snapped. "Dark red hair, remember?"

"What's got your panties in a knot?" Conan asked.

I paused, "Star Fire took my helmet."

"So?" Snow asked.

"I love my helmet." I whimpered.

"Oh man…" Kyler mumbled, slipping into her own cot. "That's it, you can fight tomorrow and I really hope someone punches you in the nuts."

"I'm a girl."

"Debatable." Gabriel said from across the room.

"Shut up or I'll make you a girl." I threatened.

Needless to say, no one else said a word the rest of the night.

**NEXT MORNING:**

"I don't need advice on how to fight my battles Hot Shot." I said, stretching out as best I could.

"I'm just saying, maybe you should… I don't know, have a partner. I mean Star Fire whipped you pretty good last time." He debated.

"She 'whipped me pretty good' because I had to watch out for all of you to make sure you wouldn't get killed like the idiots you are." I explained. "I can take the alien no problem. ET's are always overconfident."

"Thank you." Conan said sarcastically.

"Your welcome." I said sincerely.

I stood up, stretching out my arms slowly, "Anyways, I can take whoever he throws at me, and even if I don't, I'll just find some other way to get out of here."

"Justin." Kyler said, exasperated. "If this guy is anything like your dad, do you really expect he's gonna let his guard down long enough for you to get out?"

"You still underestimate my ability to pull grand schemes of escape out from under my foot, don't you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This isn't a game Todd!" She hissed. "You're not just my best friend, you're the leader of this team, everyone in this room has to depend on you to get us out of this mess! Who else do you think is gonna get us home, me? Ha, that's a joke! And what about your Family, huh? Your little sister, your parents, your dog! Think about this!"

"Look!" I snapped, "It was either fight one guy to get out of here, or take on his whole army! Which would you suggest!"

She was silent for a moment, "Fine… just… don't lose, cause I'm not going home without you."

"Course not." I snorted. "I'm Justin freakin' Todd Kyler, jeez, have some faith in the last name."

She just shook her head, "I really hope whoever you're fighting punches some sense of humility into your head."

"You're so not getting that skating rink for your birthday." I said, smirking.

"I don't even like skating!" She protested.

"You do now."

"I don't have to listen to you-"

"I'm Batman." I growled out.

"What's that mean?" Mary asked.

I quickly slipped into a British accent "It means I'm in charge Miss Mary."

She glared at me, "Shut up Todd."

The door opened, and there stood Red Arrow and Star Fire. "Fight's about to begin." Roy barked, shoving the door open further. "Come one, we don't have all day."

Mary spoke up again, "Can we please just knock these two posers out and run already?"

"Mistress Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" I taunted.

"What's that from?" Michael asked, following me out the door.

"The Secret Garden." I said, "Look it up, it's a good book."

"I think that was on my summer reading list once." Conan said, stepping outside also, and everyone, even a reluctant Mary followed suit. "Never got to it."

"Ever read The Hunger Games?" Kyler asked.

"I thought that was just a movie." Conan said innocently.

"You suck!" Kyler snapped.

"Finally, someone understands." I said, relieved.

"Shut up." Roy snapped, grabbing my shoulder and dragging me along faster.

"Hands off." I snapped, struggling out of his grip and walking beside him.

We entered a large arena, the sidelines filled with spectators. I saw a few adults, dressed in costumes. They worked for Jason. Note to self: costume = bad. Note to self again: ditch costumes soon or get home sooner.

I recognized a few heroes, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, Donna Troy, it went down that list. Couldn't help but look for Tim, Dick, and Bruce, but they weren't there.

_It's okay._ I tried to assure myself._ This isn't your world, you're going home soon, this isn't your problem._

Other than the adults, there were children, mostly children. I saw a few teenagers, looked like they had been roughed up pretty bad. I saw fingernails missing, and bruising around the neck on some. Torturing teenagers, and some of the kids too by the looks of it.

Despite the fact that it's not my problem, I couldn't help but want to help. I wanted to, vaguely, but I was leaving, and leaving today.

Roy shoved me into the middle, "Get in there. Rest of you, in the sidelines."

I nodded to Kyler to assure her, stepping into the ring carefully. Seconds felt like hours as Jason slowly and menacingly walked into the ring, smirk engraved lightly into his features. The way he looked at me made me nervous, like I was the best Christmas present he had ever gotten.

"Sleep well?" He asked innocently.

"You packed all eight of us into one room, how do you think I slept?" I said, I'm not in the mood for his games today, I wanna fight, then go home. "Now who am I fighting? I wanna go home."

"Me." Was his simple answer.

"Saw it coming." I mumbled, pulling my gloves on a little tighter.

He nodded, getting into a relaxed stance. His mistake.

I charged, putting everything I had into the run, then thrusting all the momentum forward into a right hook. He shifted, batting the attack away and trying to send me tumbling, but I spun around in mid air, shoving my foot towards his face.

He bent over backwards, waited for the attack to pass, and then grabbed the back of my head, slamming my face into his knee.

I stumbled back, grabbing my face, and then blocking the punches he threw at me. I ducked under the fourth one, then trying the land a left jab in his side, but he grabbed my hand, flipping me over his back and slamming me into the ground.

I got up quickly, trying to punch him but he blocked. I grabbed the shoulder of his leather jacket, trying to flip him over my knee, but he just yanked the other way, sending me tumbling. I rolled, trying to get out of the way, but his boot stopped me, kicking me harshly in the side.

I grabbed his knee and yanked it up, shoving him backwards. He fell, and I jumped on him, trying to punch his face. He flipped over, pinning me to the ground and twisting my arm behind my back harshly. I bit my lip, trying to repress a scream.

He smirked, pushing it even more out of joint, "Ready to give in yet?"

I yelped, then growled, trying to regain a little dignity. "**Never**."

"Stubborn." He hissed.

"Realistic." I countered, spinning around, and kicking him off me.

I got to my feet quickly, grabbing my throbbing shoulder. It wasn't dislocated, but it came pretty close. He punched me in the stomach, making me stagger back a little, trying not to fall. If I fell, it was all over.

He quickly followed with a punch, which I dodged. His knee came up, and I stopped it with my right forearm. I tried to grab the knee, but with his fist flying at my face, I needed the arm for other purposes. Block, dodge, try to hit, fail, block, dodge, try to hit, fail.

If fell into a pattern, one I was not happy with. Blocking was second nature to me, but I found myself injured whether I blocked or not. Forearms bruised, palms blistered, legs an exotic painting of blue and purple marks. Without even looking, I knew the bruises were numerous.

In a sudden epiphany, I realized, I couldn't win. This guy was just as strong, if not stronger than my dad.

"Come on Justin!" Screamed Kyler from the side lines, shattering the silence that had settled over the area besides the sound of me getting my butt kicked.

Michael soon joined in, "Kick his scrawny white boy ass!"

Raphael's was the loudest, "Kill him! Kill the crazy son of a-"

A suddenly punch to the side of my face stopped me from hearing it.

Jason's hands quickly wrapped around the collar of my jacket, yanking my nose right into his skull. There was a shattering crack, the blood, spurting onto my mouth and chin as well as his forehead.

His knee ground into the base of my sternum, forcing all the air out of my lungs. His fist drove like a sledge hammer into my throat, then the other one into the base of my sternum again, bruising ribs.

"Ugh!" I grunted, trying to grab my nose blindly, giving him the perfect chance to whip his leg around, like a boulder across my chin. I spun, flipping around in the air for a moment, before I hit the ground, hard. I tried to jump up quickly, but the was stopped as he rammed his heel into my back, pinning me down for a moment, before flipping me over, pinning me down, and grinning at me in the most insane way I've ever seen, not counting the Joker's own hellfire-like grin.

"I win." He hissed, the smile broadening.

I just starred at him, which quickly turned into glaring. "It's obvious you're better than me, there's no need to keep me here."

"Bargaining again?" He questioned, "Sorry, but I've risked losing my treasure enough for one lifetime."

"Treasure?" I spat, "You have no use for me!"

Dead silence surrounded us, like me, my team was just to stunned to process the evidence of my failure.

"You're supposed to be a detective, figure it out." He ordered.

"I'm tired of beating around the bush, just tell me!" I snapped.

He chuckled, "Fine, we'll work on your obedience later. The one thing I don't have here, the reason I agreed for Talia to bring you here, is an heir."

Just like that, it all made sense. There was no Justin Todd here, no one to carry on his endeavors. Batman needed a Robin. He needed one too.

Before I was finished processing the horrific statement, Kyler screamed out, "Run Justin!"

She jumped over the arena barrier, Arrow locked and loaded, aimed at Jason. The boxing glove arrow whizzed through the air, knocking him off of me.

Stunned, I jumped up, running for the nearest exit, vaguely aware of my teammates and the church kids starting to fight. Before I could get there, I saw a flash of blue hair, nad a fist knocking me to the ground, darkness closing in.

**I am SO sorry about how long this took, but I think this awesome chapter was worth the wait, right? Who liked the fight scene? Review please!**


	48. I Gave You Blood, Gallons Of The Stuff

The darkness was everywhere. I knew it was dark, and cold. I could feel hard, cold concrete floor beneath me. I tried to run my hand over it, and push myself up, but my hands wouldn't move. They were hand cuffed. That made me nervous. I tried to open my eyes, and they slowly did. Everything was burry, and I couldn't move right. Was I drugged? No, I knew what that felt like, Dad had drugged me before so I would know what it felt like.

I hadn't been drugged, so I must have been hit in the head. I turned my head to look to the side, and pain burst from one larger than normal area of my skull. Crap. I had been hit hard, and it was swelling. Just like that, it all came back to me. The boom tube, the fight, losing- oh no… I lost, and now I'm here? Where is here?

I heard a dark chuckle from the other end of the room, and my head snapped in that direction. Pain burst again from the bump. I ground my teeth lightly, trying not to wince or show pain. It displayed weakness, and weakness was not tolerated in any way, shape, or form by anyone.

What I saw made me glare, a tall figure, holding a knife that shone in a deadly way in the dark room. I can't feel my mask on my face, and that, above everything, makes me feel like I'm in danger. Last thing I remember was a blue blur, before being knocked out. Blue Jay. Stupid! You ran without your guard up! You should have known Blue jay wouldn't have let you run!

I tried to pull my hands closer, so as to be in a position that provided slight defensive motives, but a foot stomping down on them stops me. I grind my teeth, the grimace on my face being a poor disguise for the wince I know I had let slip.

The foot rocked back in forth, like a rolling pin, doing even more bone damage as I heard a small crack from my right pinky finger. One of the bones on it was now broken.

A small intake of air was all this captor got out of me, and that made him chuckle again. I glared up at his face, and I couldn't see anything. I tried to kick him, but the minute I moved my leg, his other foot stomped down on the knee cap from an angle. I heard the small crackle before I felt the pain, and the loss of control. He had snapped my knee cap out of place.

I've been here before, done this before, felt this all before. An old nightmare I hadn't thought of in weeks, coming back to laugh in my face. I had thought green eyes meant Raphael, but now I know who it really is, standing over me, and I know what's coming next. Sort of.

I cried out, grinding my teeth together as the scream echoed off of the walls. He chuckled again, removing both of his feet as he crouched down next to me, I turned to him, and this time, I could see his eyes.

"We're gonna have a lot of fun Justin." He said, putting his knife on my left bicep. "You ready to play?"

He chuckled at the look of sheer terror on my face, and brought the knife down, slicing easily through the leather then the muscle. It was so quick, I didn't feel it at first, but then the pain really came back to kick you in the balls.

I grunted, grinding my teeth and clenching my fists tightly, more pain coming from the broken finger. I spat out curses to Jason, telling him exactly what he was and what I wanted him to do to himself, or rather, his man down stairs, with a golf club.

The knife flicks across my face, cutting my right cheek. Not deep enough to leave a scar, just a scrape. "Don't talk to me like that!" He snaps.

I just grunt, and the knife tears into my arm again, this time high up on the shoulder. I bit my lip against the pain, making it bleed. I brought my other leg up, kicking the side of his face. He slid back a few inches, and I scrambled away from him, crawling backwards until my back hit the wall, then used it to push myself to stand on one leg.

My body ached all over, bruises from the fight were being pinched and pushed against the wall, blood dribbling down my arms as they rested, dangling with handcuffs still on.

Jason stood up, the smirk ever present on his face. "Justin, there's two ways this can go. You can accept your punishment and deal with it, or you can drag this out and make it much, much worse on yourself."

"Punishment!" I spat.

"You tried to run, that's what a coward does. You made a deal with me and then you attempted to break it, for that, you'll be punished." He explained, holding his knife in front of him, rubbing the blood stains slowly with his thumb, playing with my blood.

He continued, "Don't get me wrong, you've got a lot of potential, enough to make me want to have you, above everyone else I was considering, to become my heir, but you've got a bit of a disobedience problem."

I snorted, that was putting it lightly. "You're not my father, and I will never, not in a million years, ever take orders from you."

He sighed, as if he wanted to avoid this, but I know this is the part of a killing he loves, the prolonging, the torture, the screams. I know he's not going to kill me, but that's just going to make it worse. For every wound there's stitches, for every stitch there's scars, for every drop of blood, there's pain.

"Looks like we'll be doing this the hard way then." He said, walking towards me.

"Did you expect anything else?" I mumbled. In actuality, I know that I'm going to get really cut up, there will be pain, there will be blood, and possible trauma. But in the end, it'll be okay, and I know it, because Dad always comes. He came when the Joker beat me with a crowbar, and he'll come this time too. It's just the way it works.

He shook his head, "I prefer this. Breaking you into it is much more satisfying."

I swallowed as he grabbed my arm, right on the first knife wound, and he squeezed it, hard. I yelped, and the knife was severing through my left deltoid. I screamed, trying to pull away from the blade, but he just dug it in deeper, smirking.

He yanked me away from the wall, tugging off my jacket. I staggered, trying to stand on one leg. He got fed up with my failure, holding me up by my hair, a bit to harsh for necessity, succeeding in tugging the jacket off, so he could slice me up better.

He let go as soon as it was off. I dropped to the floor immediately, my knee throbbing in pain, along with my three deep cuts, blood seeping and immediately making three little puddles around me. I grit my teeth, shoving my good leg out as he walked up and kicking him as hard as physically possible, right on his crotch.

He fell to his knees, holding himself, cursing under his breath, as I rolled away, each movement filled with pain. That was a stupid move, I know that, but I still did it. It's not that I didn't think, I did. I just didn't care.

He stood up slowly, the smirk gone, a deadly look on his face, the knife practically attached to his hand as he jumped at me with his knife, cutting everything he could.

I thrashed, screamed, pushed, shoved, fought with everything I had, until the pain became unbearable, and I couldn't move because of it.

Finally, he stepped back, nodding in approval at his work. Dark read patches scared my arms and legs, clothes now useless from being cut up, and soaked in my own blood.

My eyes were half closed in pure agony, the pain was constant, the blood loss making my vision blur, and I felt myself beginning to go unconscious.

He growled, walking to the door, "You'll break." He promised, more himself than me. "You'll be mine."

I shivered, biting the end of my tongue lightly, the pain mattered little to what I already felt.

I shivered, trying to assess the damage, but my arms and legs were covered with so much blood, it was impossible to see the wounds underneath. I shivered again, and felt pain rake across my body from that slightly movement.

I whimpered at the pain, just wanting it to stop! Why wasn't I stronger, why did I have to lose the fight! Now I'm here on the cold concrete floor of a bar less cell, bleeding out.

Way to lose a fight for your freedom Justin. Could you get any more pathetic right now? Only if I cried. Wouldn't matter anyway, you wouldn't be able to see any tears mixing with all this blood.

I shiver again, then groan at the pain increase. Every little twitch, breath, blink, it hurts. I hold my breath, and the pain subsides, but I need air, and so the pain starts again.

_Calm yourself._ The more rational part of my mind orders. _Sleep, you don't have a concussion, so you won't go into a comma, and the more you sleep the better you'll heal._

I couldn't sleep. The pain refused to let my mind wander, attention seeker.

_Then think of what will happen when you get out of here. Think of home._

I agreed.

Alfred was in the kitchen, making the biggest batch of yeast rolls I've ever seen, cause he knows I'm coming home soon, humming something with a bit of a French sway to it. Damian was sitting at the kitchen table, doing his homework, glaring pointedly at Rango, who had one incriminating dollop of icing on his nose. Who cupcake did he snatch? I nearly giggled at the thought of it being Damian's.

Bruce was down in the bat cave, glaring intensely at the screen, obsessing over getting me home. Tim and Dick were headed to Russia, because Bruce somehow found out about Talia's involvement. He's awesome like that. Mom was working with the whole police force to track down any of Talia's assassins sent to Gotham. Dad was going through every informer he had, reassuring Kenya that they'd find me.

I saddened at the thought of Dad. I loved him, he was the best dad in the universe, why had I talked to him like that this morning?

Maybe I'm not as grownup as I thought I was, deep down, I'm still a stupid little girl who can't keep her mouth shut.

_It's your fault I got kidnapped! If you had actually been more observant, you would have seen Mom was pregnant! It's your fault I got kidnapped! Everything wrong with me is all because of you!_

I felt a lump rise in my throat at my own words. What I had said next was cruel beyond measure.

_This is one thing in my life that my last name might not ruin, don't screw this up for me!_

I tears pricked the corners of my eyes at the memory, why had I said that? Why had I been such a spoiled brat?

The door suddenly opened, and Jason walked in again. More? He had just left! No more, no more pain!

A man walked in behind Jason, and my eyes widened at the black and white suit.

"Just make sure she doesn't bleed out, keep her alive, but don't give her anything for the pain." Jason ordered.

"Yes Master Jason." The man agreed.

Jason left, and the man walked over, looking at me with pity. He sighed, kneeling down next to me and opening up the first aid kit. He threaded the needle, and I attempted to speak, "Al… Alfred?"

He nodded solemnly. "They told me that you were coming, I just didn't expect you would put up this much of a fight."

He shook his head, dipping the needle in disinfectant. "Do not speak Mrs. Justine, that is your name correct?"

I nodded, and the cursed myself for moving at the pain increase.

He shook his head, starting to stitch up the wounds covering my neck. "Jason took this to far, you could have died had I been five minutes later."

Alfred finished the first wound, working quickly, but not being sloppy. "I trust you have questions?"

I rolled my eyes. _You think?_

He just chuckled, "Very well, blink twice for yes, three for no. Are you wondering why you were brought here?"

Three blinks.

"How to get home?"

I know how to get home, get the boom tube. Three blinks.

He paused for a moment, "Why this dimension is so different from your own?"

Two blinks.

He nodded, satisfied as he finished the second wound, moving on to the third and final neck wound. "Very well Mrs. Justine, I shall tell you how this all came to be."

"Justin." I croaked.

"Excuse me?"

"Call me… Justin" I mumbled out.

He nodded, understanding.

**I think this chapter is even better than the last. Opinions? Questions? Complements? I'd love to hear them! Review!**


	49. Gave You All That You Can Drink And

"It started when Jason came back from the dead. He was insane really, but a few ties remained, to Master Bruce, myself, and his old flame Mrs. Kim."

My eyes widened, and Alfred continued, constantly applying disinfectant and stitches. "He tracked down Kimberly first, unable to persuade her to his point of view with words, he killed her, and brought her back with the Lazarus pit."

I swallowed carefully, blood and saliva running down my throat. "Her mind grew as twisted as his, and together they began taking over Gotham block by block. If anyone out up a fight, they were killed. The Bat family presented a growing threat now that Master Damian was involved. So, they took on several street orphans, taught them to fight, and grew their own army out of the Gotham underground."

I couldn't believe this, he loved Kim, yet he killed her a threw her in the Lazarus pit? Then went for mass adoption.

"They taught them how to fight, and how to think like Batman taught them, if one ceased to be useful, they were terminated." Alfred said sadly. "With these massive numbers, it was only a matter of time before they kidnapped Master Damian."

Damian, the baby bird, weakest link, but not weak in any way, was the first to fall. There is no justice in that, why should the youngest die first? Why should they be but the first to fall?

"Jason killed him, giving him the same fate Kim and he had both suffered." Alfred said, "Video taped it, and forced Damian to beg Bruce to avenge him on camera. After the body was disposed of, he forced Bruce to watch the tape."

Alfred shook his head sadly, "Overcome with rage, Bruce, for the first time, vowed to kill another human, his own son."

I glared at Alfred, ignoring the searing pain in my throat and did what I always do, mouth off. "By that time, I doubt adoption papers matter."

Alfred shrugged, "I suppose, my heart also broke witnessing the tape. Bruce tried to kill Jason, but from what I can gather, he must have hesitated at the last moment, and Jason took advantage of that, with his knife, he killed his father."

Alfred sighed, moving to my right arm to keep stitching me up. How many wounds did I have? These were going to make some serious scars.

"It took three hours to kill the worlds greatest detective, and a hundred years won't bring back a more brilliant or equally brilliant mind." Alfred mused. "After Master Bruce was killed, Master Richard came blindly seeking revenge, was careless, and also lost his life, but to Kim instead of Jason."

Mom killed Uncle Dick? No way, Mom would never do that! _Not your mom stupid, this one got a brain shock with Ras Al Ghul's liquid brain buster. It made your dad slightly insane, remember?_

"What about… Kim's parents?" I asked.

"Jason killed them a few nights before he killed Kim with the crowbar, then brought her back, but left her parents dead. I still don't believe she knows Jason was the one to do it." Alfred continued, "With three family members gone, the Bat family was cut in half, but they still tried to function. When it proved impossible to simply ignore Jason and Kim's antics, Master Tim, Miss Stephanie, and Miss Cassandra tried to make a stand against them, but were ultimately wiped out. Miss Cassandra managed to escape for a few more years, but she too was eventually hunted down and killed."

Alfred finished my arm, dang this guy worked fast. Of course he does, he's Alfred, he keeps the bat family running.

"With most of the worlds finest gone, eventually, everything else crumbled." Alfred explained, wrapping up my arm gently. "When faced with the threat of Superman, Jason stole Master Bruce's kryptonite, and one by one, the kryptonians were wiped out as well."

My eyes widened, "Green Arrow?" I asked. If all the supers were wiped out, that meant this dimensions Conan too. I could live with that, but this dimensions Kyler? That would kind of suck.

"Oliver was killed also, he refused to surrender, after getting his younger ward to safety, he launched a full scale assault on Jason and his rising army, which now began to include subdued and brainwashed heroes, such as Star Fire, Red Arrow, Donna Troy, Wonder Girl, and a few others Jason managed to obtain." Alfred said, moving to my other arm.

"If I remember correctly, Red Arrow himself killed Oliver, putting him through torture to discover the whereabouts of his younger ward, Kyle I believe his name was." Alfred explained.

Green arrows second ward, well, that was Kyler, and she was the daughter of Red Arrow. Kyler was a boy here? A boy named Kyle? Store away for blackmail.

Roy was looking for Kyle on top of that, which gave additional complications. Alright, so, this Conan must be dead, this Kyler, uh, Kyle, was in hiding with a rag tag gang of rebels, Snow had probably never been freed since I wasn't here, that left a few possible team mates alive here.

I bit my lip, what about Michael, Mary and Gabriel? Not really part of my team, but skilled, helpful. "You ever hear about, uh, church heroes?"

Alfred nodded, "Master Jason discusses everything with me. I assume he does at least. There was a small incident at a nearby Catholic church, warriors sprang up to try and defend the world briefly, but the attack was to late, Jason had already gained to much power."

Alfred shook his head sadly, "So, after he had taken over nearly all the north American continent, he began killing off any adults who weren't in his army. The government was powerless to stop it, what government would stand up to super heroes?"

Very true Alfred. But those aren't super heroes any more, heroes work with their government, not for it, but they abide by the rules of engagement and code of conduct.

"Why?" I croaked.

"Stop talking." He commanded, "You will pull the stitching around your neck."

He continued, "He believed children and teenagers were more impressionable, and easier to deal with. That, and Master Jason has always had a soft spot for children. Which is why he wanted you after all."

I rolled my eyes, and Alfred started wrapping up my arm, moving onto the gashes across my stomach.

Alfred shook his head, "Jason was never a subtle brainwasher. He was never one for winning you over with words slowly."

Yeah, he just breaks you, then 'rebuilds' you.

Alfred slowly stitched the largest stomach wound, shaking his head slowly. "So, Talia Al Ghul attempted to overthrow him, but her actions were futile, she was also to late."

I nodded, and Alfred shrugged, "And so, here we are."

"Alfred…" I mumbled, ignoring his scowl at using my voice. "Do you know where Kyle is?"

He nodded, "Yes, I believe he is living in the same ruins you were found in, along with several other survivors, which Jason passionately calls, rebels."

Of course he does. "How many?"

"I'm not sure of their numbers, but I know there are many more than Jason assumes, he suspects only a few dozen, but I know there must be more, maybe closer to a hundred." Alfred relinquish, "Now, enough talking-"

"I don't want to know numbers!" I protested, "How many do you know, other than Kyle?"

Alfred paused, "Well, no one. I'm not going to risk their safety by having to much knowledge of them. I assume Master Jason suspects Kyle's whereabouts already, which is why Red Arrow was already in the area when you lot dropped in. They were told to keep an eye open for you all, and it was merely bad fortune. If you had arrived earlier, or perhaps an hour later, you would have probably met Kyle yourself."

"Rotten luck." I mumbled. "By any chance, does Jason have in recruit a pyrokinetik? Probably male, black hair, green eyes, a bit on the moronic side?"

"Any other traits?"

"Constantly angry, melting his shoes about ever other week, can't do a simple cartwheel without falling on his wanna be hero butt, can't keep his mouth shut, makes really bad fight banter, usually about fire?" I asked, hopeful.

"I haven't ever come into contact with such a person." Alfred said.

Alright, this version of Kerosene, unknown. Now I can't blow up Jason and all his brainwashed mummies the easy way. Oh well, gasoline and matches it is then.

Alfred nodded, moving onto the second stomach wound. "You must listen to me, Jason will kill you if he can't have, you, because he is a stubborn child who has the mindset, 'if I cant have it, no one can.' You must give into him, at least until we can get you out of here."

"My team?" I asked, ignoring his stupid weak plan of submission.

"Jason will not keep his word to send them home where they will tell everybody where you are." Alfred said sadly. "If your father is anything like his dimensional counterpart, then he will stop at nothing to rescue you."

I shivered again, as Alfred wrapped up my stomach, careful not to pull stitches. "When's he coming back?"

"Everything is clockwork for him, so I assume, same time tomorrow." Alfred said solemnly.

I mumbled curses under my breath, and Alfred glares at me, "If you weren't in such pitiful shape already, I'd pop your mouth for that."

"One of the two reasons to be grateful for all the cuts." I grunted, still trying to ignore the pain of my throat.

"What would the other one be?" Alfred asks, gathering up my leather jacket, and putting it under my head like a pillow.

"Cool scars." I explained, as he rolled his eyes, chuckling, and turning to the nasty maze of red blood and pale torn flesh that were now my legs.

"Stop talking at once Miss Justin, you have quite tried my patience with your lacerated throat." Alfred ordered.

_Yes sir._


	50. It Has Never Been Enough I Gave You

**Wow, this is the 50th chapter, huh? That's amazing. i remember when I first started this story, way back... when was it again?**

* * *

><p>The night was Hell. The deepest circle of Hell, leaning right over the dreaded lake of fire. Every little move, twitch, and blink, brought searing agony. Breathing, how I wished I could live without it.<p>

Since my thoughts had a lot of time to drift, questions haunted me constantly. Had Jason let my team go home? How was I going to get out of this? How the heck was I supposed to go to the bathroom? I couldn't walk anyways. Very good thing I haven't eaten recently.

I shivered in the cold room, then wanted to strangle myself as shivering hurt me even more. I tried to push the pain from my mind, but it didn't work. Sleep was impossible, but unconsciousness wasn't. After several minutes that felt like hours, I finally slipped into unconsciousness.

**WITH JASON AND KIM (EVIL JASON AND KIM)**

"How's she doing?" Kim asked me, coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

I frowned, and she immediately thought the worst, "Did she bleed out?"

"No." I said, "She's still alive, just…"

"Barley?" Kim guessed.

"No. That I could deal with. She's not giving up. Far from it." I growled.

"Well, you knew breaking her was going to be tough." Kim reminded me.

"She's not just being tough Kim, she's shrugging it off." I snapped. "It's like she doesn't even care."

Kim shrugged, "She grew up in the league of assassins, Talia would have made sure pain was second nature to her."

I nodded slowly, "Then how much pain is her breaking point."

Kim gave me a sly smile, "That's the fun part, finding out. Trial and error. Poke and prod."

I turned away from the window, smirking over my shoulder at her. I quickly grabbed her shoulders, ramming her into the wall next to me. I dove in, covering her lips with mine, biting her lower lip teasingly. I pulled away, waiting for her to say it.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I know." I said. This was all mine. I had the world, Gotham, Batman's legacy, Kim, and now a heir.

**WITH KYLER:**

I groan as Conan throws herself at the cell door again, and Mary pipes up, "No matter how many times you hit that door, it is never going to budge."

My eyes shoot to the corners of the cell, where tinny little green crystals shimmer slightly. Not to much, just enough to keep Conan drained, and powerless.

A few feet to my right, Raphael sat, in a meditating position, hands palms up on his knees, fingers curled slightly. He was trying to generate heat in his palms, get the flames going. Not a chance.

I look down at the floor, we're sitting in about two inches of water, and everything, even the air, to damp. It's practically raining the air is so wet!

I look over at Snow, who appears to be talking with a cockroach scurrying up and down the wall next to her head. Gabriel is huddled up next to Mary, trying to stay warm. They weren't used to this. They were trained to fight, not to survive. Michael shivers next to me, and I put my arm around him, drawing him closer, offering to share the little warmth my body was able to generate in this water filled cell.

He smiled gratefully, resting his head on my shoulder, rubbing his upper arms, trying to generate heat from friction.

I was freezing too, but I couldn't let it show. I looked over at Conan, as she shoved against the door one last time, before just falling to her knees, panting, and looking like she was going to throw up.

Alright Kyler, you're second in command, with Justin gone, you're leader.

I reached down to my ankle, slipping my foot beneath the fold of spandex, and pulled out a small flashlight. I turned it on, grateful for the waterproof covering Ollie had given me for the small light.

I pointed it at the door, revealing the door to be a sturdy, thick hunk of metal. I quickly saw the dilemma, not only was the door sealed shut with three heavy rusty, complicated locks I couldn't even begin to understand, but the hinges and edges had been treated with the bad end of a flame thrower. The door had been smelted shut. I skim the flashlight over the other walls, no other doors, no windows, hatches, no breaks in the plain metal walls. That's impossible. We had to have been put in here someway when we were knocked out.

I turned to Snow, "Does anyone remember how we were put in here?"

They paused, and Raphael looked up form his pointless attempts, "Why?"

I stood up, splashing through the water level, which really looked deeper than before, to go over to the door. I put my hand over the melted hinges, "They're cold."

"Every things cold." Michael pointed out, standing up, and a bit annoyed that his only heat source was on the move.

"If they didn't do this right after we were put in, how did we get in here?" I mused.

Everyone looked a bit disturbed at this, looking around for an answer.

Gabriel licked his lips, standing up as well, running his hand along the wall. "How long does it take metal to cool after it's been smelted?"

I was at a loss, turning to Raphael, hoping hot head knew.

He shrugged, "Depending on how hot, fourteen hours to a full day. If your talking about all the way liquid, then around a week almost."

I pointed to the door hinges, "How thick do you think this is?"

He walked over, putting his ear to the door, and tapping it with his knuckle. He pulled away, rubbing his chin, "Two or three inches."

Conan whistled, long and slow.

Mary's eyes widened, "Wow."

"I've seen better." I mumbled, "How long for these hinges to cool?"

He rubbed the metal with his thumb, "This is titanium."

"Three inches of titanium?" Gabriel mused, "What did they build this cell to contain? Darkseid?"

Conan let out a gasp, putting her hand over her mouth, staring at the edge of the door.

"What?" I asked, confused by her behavior. Conan wasn't usually an emotional person. It's not the fact she hid surprise, anger, sadness, or hate, it's just that she didn't have them. She wasn't emotionless, she just was a naturally happy person. Conan has stood beside me as we've taken children out of slave trade warehouses, looking at the children who were drugged, bruised, beaten, covered in their own urine and feces, and did it with a smile on her face, telling jokes to the kids to make them laugh, and then laughing with them. Whatever she had seen must be bad.

She just pointed to the wall, and I shined the light that way, revealing a deep carving into the metal door. The superman symbol, and judging by the blackened metal, written in heat vision. Next to it, was a small smear of blood, in the vague shape of a few fingers.

Conan shivered, shaking her head, "I hate this dimension."

I bit my lip, not knowing what to say, "Who's is it?"

Her shoulders started to shake, and she clenched her fists. "To big to be mine, to small to be Grandpa's."

And that definitely wasn't a girls hand. "I… I'm sorry Conan."

Her shoulders shook more, and suddenly, her head snapped up, and she pounded on the metal door, screaming in rage, she threw herself in the opposite wall, before punching another wall, and then body slamming into the last wall, lashing at the third wall again, punching, smacking, body slamming, head bashing, all the walls.

Michael, thoroughly shocked, grabbed me, pushing me in front of him a sa human shield.

Mary and Gabriel stood shoulder to shoulder, watching Conan throw her kryptonian fury into the walls, tense, ready to spring at the first sign of aggression Conan showed them. I didn't realize I hadn't stopped biting my lip until the iron taste of blood filled my mouth.

She screamed more, jumping up towards one of the four corners of the cell, digging her fingers into it. The titanium that would have been as easy to crumble as stiff bread was now of the likeness of cold cheese, hard, pasty, and a pain to dig your fingers through.

She ripped off the small speckle of kryptonite, falling to her knees immediately, and dropping it into the cold water. She jumped up to the next corner, ripping away the kryptonite, and the nest, and the last, until the four little crystals are dropped one after the other into the middle of the floor, and Conan collapses in the corner farthest from them, and gives me a look, "Kick 'em away."

I walk towards the middle, scoop up the four crystals from the middle, and carry them to the corner opposite Conan, covering them with tiny pieced of rock and sand.

She nods, panting, and standing up, "I think… I could break the door down now."

Mary suddenly snapped, "So that huge temper tantrum right then… you didn't really go insane with grief?"

Conan smirked, "Course not, trying to get my adrenalin up, so I could break off the kryptonite."

I suddenly was smirking with her, "Course, Conan never loses her cool."

She nodded, turning around, and fingering the wall in front of her, before pulling back, and punching the wall with all her might.

The sound of a sledge hammer connecting with a nail head echoed through the cell, making all of us grab our ears in pain. As the ringing sound faded, yet still echoed, throughout the cell, we looking up, to see a fist-shaped dent in the wall, barley a quarter of an inch deep.

Conan sank to the flooded floor, shaking he head, her shoulders beginning to tremble again. I walked over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay Conan, even Superman couldn't have broken through. He's probably be on the ground in pain by now."

She shook her head, and I frowned, "Conan, the fact that you're only half kryptonian is a strength, it means kryptonite only affects you half as much."

"It's not that!" She snaps, shooting me a look over her shoulder, then sighed, shaking her head slowly, "It's not that."

"Then what's wrong?" I asked, puzzled.

She laughed, "You don't know about it, seriously? Justin wouldn't leave me alone about it for three weeks when she found out."

"Found out what?" I asked, getting a bit annoyed. What was wrong?

She looked over her shoulder at me, "I'm claustrophobic."

She shivered, hugging her sides, "And it's small in here."

I groaned, one more thing to deal with. I turned back to the door. There had to be another way out of here. I looked back to Conan, "And chance of heat vision?"

"You know I won't get that till I'm eighteen." She groaned.

I looked to Kerosene, but the look on his face made me bite back my question. Of course he still couldn't produce enough molecular friction to supply flame. I shook my head at my own thoughts.

Kyler, seriously, more physical training, less time hunched over physic books, okay? I can hear Ollie laughing at my mental statement, saying that exact sentence.

He would have messed my hair up, shaking his head, and then said something like: You up for ice cream?

Curse that man and his ever present supply of junk food.

Focus Kyler!

I turn to Gabriel, "Any of you know how to make light? My flashlight's gonna die."

Gabriel nodded, "Yes, we can, but not without our items."

"Items?" I asked.

"Holy items." Mary pitched in, "Like our weapons, which can expand and contract to our whim, our holy items also have special qualities. Holly water can cure any wound. Blessed manna can give you stamina for hours. A rock from the mound of Calvary will produce light when bathed in pure blood."

I raised my eyebrow, "Pure blood?"

She nodded stiffly, "Blood from one clean of sin, which rules all of you out."

I glared at her, "Really?"

She nodded, "If one commit's a sin, it can be forgiven, but you are never truly clean once again."

"That's baloney." I snapped, "The Bible says the when God forgives, He forgets."

She raised her eyebrow, "You know the Scriptures?"

I nodded, "I'm Jewish."

**A FEW HORUS LATER, WITH JUSTIN:**

I cried, the tears rolling down my cheeks, mixing with the dried blood, and onto the floor. Make it stop! Make the pain stop!

I had not gained enough relief from sleep to beat against the pain pulsing from head to toe. Crying hurt, blinking hurt, any little movement hurt like Hell times ten!

I sobbed harder, "God…" I choked out, "If there is one…"

I took in the deepest breath I could without feeling like my stitches on my abdomen were being pulled out, "If there is a God… then…"

I shivered in the cold room, knowing this was stupid.

"THEN I HATE YOU FOR PUTTING ME THROUGH THIS! GO TO HELL!" I screamed a the top of my lungs, then started sobbing again.

This is why it was stupid, because even if there was a God, and He heard me, He didn't care. And because yelling just hurt more.


	51. Blood Blood Blood, Grab A Glass Because

**KIM'S POINT OF VIEW; IN THE BAT CAVE:**

"TALIA DID WHAT TO MY BABY!" I roared, shoving the abused teenage boy up against the wall.

He trembled at the expression on my face, the fear of God in his eyes. "She ordered me to send Justine Todd into an alternate dimension where Jason Todd is a maniac who rules most of the world."

Damian suddenly stepped foreword, "Talia, she's been to this dimension herself?"

The boy nodded, turning to Damian with relief. "Many times, to secure a deal with that universes Jason Todd."

The boy's English was flawless, but the Russian accent was so easily detectible to both of us. I growled, putting one hand over his neck and squeezing harshly. "What deal?"

He thrashed in my hold, managing to choke out, "Talia would deliver Jason Todd an heir, in exchange for the promise that Justine would never leave his dimension."

I dropped the boy, and he grabbed his neck, gasping for breath. I turned to Damian, panting slightly, trying to calm down. "Damian, I am very sorry, but I'm going to have to kill your mother."

Damian rolled his eyes, "As if you could."

I allowed myself to smirk at Damian's conclusion. "You've never seen me trying."

I turned to go to hijack the bat mobile and go all the way to Russia to kill Talia Al Ghul when the boy suddenly spoke up, "I'm sorry."

I looked over my shoulder at him. He was an assassin, bred to kill, and to have no pity. "What?"

He looked up at me, his thin, dirty blonde hair hanging in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I did not wish to harm Justin Todd, I have the utmost respect and gratitude for her, and what she has done for me, for all of us. Talia was going to kill Dawn if I did not comply with her wishes."

"White Ghost's daughter?" Damian questioned.

The boy nodded. I raised an eyebrow, "What did Justin ever do for you?"

He look me straight in the eye, and without hesitation, he said, "She showed us what we could be."

Damian approached the boy, "Justin showed you that even though your elders told you differently, there was a better life out there. People who could help you, choices you could make, and overall, a better ending to your story."

The boy nodded, "Yes. All except people who would help us. Justin did it on her own no one helped her."

Damian laughed, "Plenty of people helped Justin-"

"But she was the one who started it off herself." I said, cutting Damian off, and giving him a look. If the thought of Justin being some kind of god helped these kids, then that was what they would believe. That Justin did this on her own, and they could to.

I turned to the bat plane, a smirk forming on my face, "Damian, stall them for as long as you can. This is just going to be me and Talia. Woman to woman."

Damian paused, then spoke, "If it helps build up rage that will be useful for the fight, Talia slept with Jason a long time ago."

My eyes widened, and then I growled, my hands curling into fists. "I'm going to kill that-"

"Yes, yes." Damian waved, "Have fun and do give her my regards."

**WITH JUSTIN:**

Cold water rushed over me, and I sputtered, trying to lean away from the sudden waterfall, but merely putting strain on my stitches.

There was laughter, so I looked over my shoulder to see Jason standing there, empty bucket in his hands, that did not look clean at all. You know how, if you have a big outdoor dog, you sometimes just get this big bucket and fill it up to the brim, thinking it'll last the dog for weeks? Then you go outside about three, maybe four weeks later, and the bucket is absolutely disgusting? You know, with green gush all over the edges, water bugs making their home in it, and some black stuff growing around the bottom edges?

That's what that now empty bucket looked like. And the water from that bucket, had been dumped on my face. Worst part is, I'm pretty sure some of that water got into my mouth.

My stomach immediately started flopping around, like it was in a jump roping competition. I got an odd taste in the back of my throat, and I really just felt like jumping into a pool of disinfectant, cause really, that bucket was nasty as Hell.

Without letting me recover from swallowing what should not be legally considered water, Jason's hand shot down towards me, bumping against cuts as he grabbed the back of my red Kevlar shirt, dragging me across the floor.

I yelped at the feeling of the lacerations covering the back of my legs and my lower back being drug across the floor. I swatted at his hands in protest, grunting, trying not to talk like Alfred said. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who's ever listened when he's said that.

Jason gave me a rough kick, silently telling me to stop struggling. Why is he being silent? He's not the one with three stab wounds surrounding their neck!

I grimaced at the pain from his boot, why does he have to keep hurting me? He's already won! I'm down, I can't fight back! Why does he keep doing this? He's already won!

He pried open the door, dragging me out into the hallway. I blinked back tears. Just stop it!

His hand let got of my collar, but before I could topple backwards, his leg moved to support my back, stopping the fall. It wasn't mercy. Any mercy he showed at this point was stupid, laughable even.

His hand went immediately to my hair, pulling it straight upwards like he was playing tug of war with it. I managed to cut the scream off before it was any more than a yelp, settling with just groaning. I'm down, I'm beat, but I won't scream. He won't get that satisfaction from me.

He kept pulling my short dark red hair, yanking me up onto my feet. So that's what he wanted? Me to stand on my own? I'd pimp slap him if that wouldn't hurt my arm more than his face.

I groaned again as he pushed me forward with my hair, making me walk. Every step, as soon as pressure was put on it, yanked on stitches and abused muscle strands. Pain would shoot from every wound, getting worse with each step until a trickle of blood was trailing behind me as I was forced to walk down the hall. If I looked back, I was sure to see combat boot prints, only seen because the prints would have been blood.

He pushed me faster, "Come on, hurry up!" He snapped.

I grunted angrily at him, if he wanted me to walk down the hall, I would, but anything faster than this pace was physically impossible.

I stumbled for a moment, and he corrected my stumble by grabbing my shoulder, the one with the muscle he severed, and yanking me into the right position before shoving me forward, down the hall.

Each movement a struggle, each step an accomplishment as stitched began to get irritated, more painful, and the humidity of the dark hallway caused me to sweat, the sweat finding it's way into my eyes.

I grunted, trying to wipe away the sweat with my uninjured shoulder, but Jason would have none of that. He grabbed my hair again, yanking me head upright, pulling against the stitches in my neck.

I growled back at him, this is physically impossible! I can't walk, let alone at the pace you're trying to set! Can't you see? It hurts! Everything hurts! I haven't felt pain like this since the Joker got wise with a crowbar! Dad, where are you? Why can't you get here? You came last time, why aren't you here now?

**WITH KYLER:**

I checked the water level, it was at my knee cap now. Gabriel groaned, "If they wanna drown us, why don't they just do it already?"

"Two points for wishful thinking." Conan mumbled, curled up in the corner farthest from the shards of kryptonite.

"Wasn't he supposed to let us go?" Raphael spoke up, "I mean, if Justin finds out that he didn't let us go, then there's no reason for her to keep her deal, right?"

Mary glared at him, "Despite the fact that that he can easily kill us now?"

"… Oh." Raphael mumbled.

"Shut up everybody, just shut up." I ordered.

Michael cleared his throat, "Guys-"

Mark glared at me, "I'll talk if I want idiot."

I grabbed her upper arm, throwing her against the wall, "I've had enough or your mouth you stupid tramp!"

She shoved me backwards, "Don't touch me!"

"I'm not the one who won't shut up! All you do is keep insulting everyone about everything! It's like, if they aren't in your religion, then you hate them!" I snapped. "The Bible says, hate sin, not the sinner! You have to love everybody, because hate is wrong, that's what God said!"

"Oh, and suddenly, you're the big expert on religion?" She questioned, "Just because you're Jewish doesn't mean that you're saved, or that you deserve to get into heaven!"

I threw my hands into the air, "Seriously, do you hear yourself? **Who **deserves to get into heaven! You name one person, besides Jesus Christ, who never committed a sin, and therefore deserves to get into heaven, and I'll admit you're right about everything. You name **one person**!"

"Guys!" Michael snapped, "I hate to intrude on this PMS moment, but, has anyone else noticed the bubbles?"

I turned to look at him, raising my eyebrow, "The what?"

He pointed to the corner here the kryptonite shards where, and sure enough there where two small streams of bubbles. I walked over, feeling along the area where the bubbles were coming from, to have my fingers brush against cracks on the floor. I traced them slowly, it was square, like a door.

"Guys," I said, "I think I found-"

The cracks suddenly gave away, the hatch I had discovered caving in, and water rushing out. I jumped back, falling on my butt.

The water completely drained out, the kryptonite shards flushing down the hatch, until there was nothing left.

Two seconds past, before a head popped up out of the ground, brown shaggy hair and mud brown eyes stared back at us. A teenage boy, looked about seventeen.

No one spoke, until a grin broke out on the boy's face, a chuckle escaping his lips. "Well, never got a group this big before. Look's like I got here just in time too."

I narrowed my eyes at him, something was familiar about him, but what? "Who are you?"

He smirked, "I'm the guy that's gonna get you the hell out of here, now are you coming or staying here to wait for the bloody big head to get ya?"

He disappeared down the hatch, and I looked over my shoulder to the others.

Michael chuckled nervously, "Uh, ladies first?"

Mary rolled her eyes, and I sighed, "Let's just go."

I jumped down the hole after the boy, the others quickly following. Conan took deep breaths, grabbing her neck gently with relief.

I put a hand on her shoulder, "You okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah… I can breath now."

I shook my head, "I just hope Justin's doing better than us."

**This just keeps getting weirder and weirder! Who's the boy? Why is he calling Jason the bloody big head? Why does Kyler have to be so cliché with her last words in the chapter? You're guess is as good as mine! Seriously people, review!**


	52. There's Going To Be A Flood

**I am so sorry it took so long, if you look at all the new stories on my profile, you'll see why justin hasn't gotten any love form me recently...**.

I glared at the boy in front of me as we followed him down the lightless tunnel, "Who are you?" I asked again.

He just chuckled, and shook his head, looking over his shoulder at me, "You can call me Kyle."

Ironic.

He raised his eyebrow, and I realized he wanted my name. "Oh, uh… just call me Speedy."

He snorted, looking back ahead, "Vigilante acts are just stupid and pointless nowadays. Besides, you have no right to that name."

I glared at him, "A man gave me that name years ago, and I'll be using it, thanks."

He was silent for a moment, before asking, "And the rest of you?"

"Snow."

"Conan."

"Mary."

"Michael."

"Gabriel."

"Raphael."

Kyle immediately stopped, looking back over his shoulder with wide eyes, "Gabriel, Mary, and Michael? As in the Saving Saints?"

Mary nodded, "That was our first idea of a team name, but how do you know it?"

Kyle turned around fully, "Dudes, it's me! Kyle, Kyle Harper, you know, Speedy!"

My eyes widened, "Oh snap."

**WITH KIMBERLY MATHILDA AND TALIA AL GHUL:**

Talia walked into her study, calmly approaching her desk and setting a stack of files down on it, lost in thought. She picked up the top one, opening it and flipping through it mindlessly. Finally, she looked up, staring at the window with a slight smirk on her face, "Well Jason, you pieced this together faster than I thought."

A figure suddenly tackled her, shoving her face into the desk.

"Not. Jason." Growled Kimberly, using all her will power trying not to just snap her neck and be done with her.

Talia flipped Kim off of her, turning around to glare at her, "You? How did you find out, you aren't a detective!"

Kim glared right back, "Nope, not a detective, just something you'll never be: a good mom!"

She threw a knife at Talia, who simple sidestepped it. "Go home little blue bird, you're out of your league."

Kim smirked, "Not quite."

She held up a small triggering device, and Talia's eyes widened, looking over her shoulder, to see a small, blue, bird shaped clip on her back.

Kim pressed the button, and the clip blew up, sending Talia flying over past her, knocking into the wall, unconscious. Kim grabbed her by her hair, dragging the body over to the window, "Let's have a little chat."

**WITH KYLER:**

Kyle stared at us, "So, you're from a different dimension?"

"Yes."

Kyle remained indifferent, "And so is some girl called Justin?"

"Yes."

"Who is now probably being tortured by Red Hood?"

"Yes."

"And you want to go back in there to save her?"

"Yes."

"And you expect my help?"

"Yes." I answered with finality.

He frowned, "On one condition."

"I'm listening."

He smirked, "You have to help us kill Jason and his wife."

This took me back a bit, and I shook my head, "We don't kill. It's what separates us from the scum-"

"Yeah, yeah!" Kyle snapped. "I got that speech too, from Ollie, right? But out here, this is basically post apocalypse! Ten to twenty kids die each day from Jason's attacks, or the after math of them. We have a small resistance, and we're starving." Kyler sighed, "I haven't eaten in three days."

I was silent then, but then I got an idea, "I won't help you kill him, my ledger is flawless, and I'll keep it that way. But, if you help us get Justin back, I can guarantee you, Justin will kill him herself, she's got a lot of red in her ledger, and she's never been fully rehabilitated, and after all this time? With crazy Jason? She'll rip his eyes out, and shove them down his throat just so he can see her rip his intestines out from the inside. And, even if she doesn't, I can help you in so many more ways."

He scoffed, "How?"

I smirked, "Well, I could call the whole Justice League, the Outlaws, Teen Titans, League of Assassins, and pretty much every vigilante known to man down here to personally overthrow Jason, his wife, and their posse."

He paused a moment, "You'd do all that, for strangers you hardly know?"

I nodded, "I'm a hero, it's what we do."

He scoffed at the cliché term, but then nodded, "Fine, we'll rescue your friend."

**WITH TALIA AND KIM:**

"You sent my baby where?" I asked, growling.

"She's hardly your baby anymore." Talia tossed back, "She hasn't been a baby since she was taken from you."

"At the ripe old age of two." I spat, "And you've sold her, sold her into… slavery!"

"That's a dramatized view point." She said coldly.

"It's the only view point." I sassed.

"Justine Todd was born by your body, but Black Hood was what I created her into." Talia said. "I raised her, trained her, molded her into the perfect weapon. Did you ever wonder why I chose her?"

"Because she was the daughter of two very experienced heroes, you go by the blood where your from." I said.

"Wrong." Talia corrected, "You are no hero, you are a soldier. She was meant to be a failsafe for your boy toy."

"Come again?"

"A plug we attached to Jason to be able to pull at will." Talia explained. "We had her trained by him for that very purpose, she became his student, so she would know him inside and out. Robin could truly kill Batman emotionally and physically if he wished."

I nodded slowly, "Talia, I'm going to kill you for doing this to my daughter." I turned around, leaving her tied to the chair, blood dripping down her face from the multiple knife wounds I had inflicted.

She snickered, "You don't kill."

"Any good mother will kill for her child." I said, "And like I told you before, unlike you, I'm a good mother." And with that, I left.

**WITH JUSTIN:**

Jason stood in front of me, smirking down at me, holding that God forsaken knife up, chuckles escaping through his teeth. "You stayed behind with me for your friends. They just… left to-"

"A madman?" I offered. He kicked me in the ribs, making me roll across the floor a little. A lot of things were bad about this situation, but the worst was the humiliation. Jason had outdone himself. He had bound my wrists behind my back with handcuffs, tossing me into the middle of the floor on my side, and then made all of his little guards come into the room to watch as he talked crap about me.

"Your father."

"You are no father of mine." I hissed.

He laughed, grabbing my face roughly in his hands, making me stare right into his eyes. "I am now."

"Never." I mumbled, just barely audible.

He dropped me, laughing even more. I thought my real Dad was insane, this one was just… he didn't belong in therapy, or an insane asylum, he belonged, to be frank, in hell. Just send him off now, there's no saving him, no medicine to prescribe, no therapy that can help, just shoot him in the eye.

His guards watched me, lying in the floor, they didn't seem to like me much. I'm guessing that Black Lightning had been a friendly guy, one that was well liked by all. I caught a glimpse of Donna Troy, biting her lip while she looked at me in pity. Seems not everyone here was brainwashed very well.

Jason suddenly stopped laughing, looking down at me in disgust, "You'll never change, will you? No matter what I do, you'll always be defiant, disrespectful, and you'll never fully fit the mold I've set up, will you?"

I looked up at him, glaring through the blood and sweat covering my eyes, "I've already been molded once in my life, by Talia Al Ghul. Once cement sets, it's never gonna bend, it'll break, but it'll never bend."

He paused, looking down at me, with a sober expression on his face, before laughing, and giving a nod to the sidelines, and a man stepped forward, holding a crowbar. My heart stopped, and my froze, looking at the dark, cold, twisted metal tool.

This can _not _be happening.

Please no. Not that. Please.

I shook with fear as Jason held the crowbar up above his head, smirking down at me, "Talia tells me that you've had some unfortunate experiences with a crowbar." he chuckled, "Well, haven't we all?"

I shook my head, "No. Not that… please."

I was begging, and I didn't care, to Hell with my pride! I don't wanna get beaten with a crowbar again! I've been strong all through this torture session, and if anyone says otherwise, they're wrong.

He shook his head, "Sorry kiddo, you had your chance to call off the training a long time ago. Now, how about a nice big smile for the crowd, huh?"

The crowd, watching me, disgusted with the weakness. I mean, I'm just lying here on the ground in a heap, bloodied and bruised, cowering and begging.

He laughed again, "Oh come on Justy."

At that name, my blood ran cold. Justy? No one had ever called me that, ever. It was always either Justine, or Justin. Justy was a child's name, a baby nick name you gave to a toddler. That's when I had enough.

I have been cut, hacked at, beaten, humiliated, and treated like a misbehaving dog who was being stubborn about training. After all he put me through, he was not allowed to treat me like a child with such a childish name.

Pain, that had demanded my entire attention, suddenly vanished from my mind, because all I could think about was rage, and stopping the source. Jason was the source.

His smile dropped as soon as he saw the strength return to my eyes, and my legs shook a little, before I forced them into a kneeling position. The handcuffs fell like paper in the wind, signature training of the bat family. He took half a step back, shock on his features. His walls were down, the ball was in my court.

I stood up, my legs were broken, it shouldn't have been possible. But I did it. It shouldn't have been possible for a fifteen year old girl to be able to go through all that, and stand up so calmly, ready to kill. But I was.

"My name." I said slowly, blood dripping down my throat, it stung. "Is Justine Todd. My father calls me Justin. You are not him. You will never be. You, you manipulative, filthy, scum bag of a dog, will die, today. Screw the rules, you poke the wolf you get bit."

He was speechless, staggering, not able to think. Why? Because this was a man who had conquered the world, killed Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Black Bat, Oracle, Batgirl, Superman, Superboy, and every other notable hero in the world. He had done it all, not with his awesome super strength, or super speed, or telepathy, or telekinesis, or necromancy, he did it all with his brain, his strategies, his ability to think ahead of his opponent. And me, a teenager, did something, _he didn't expect_.

The guards in the room are wary, they are scared, they are frightened. The ones who can see my face tremble, because they see my eyes, eyes of an animal. If you put the beast in a cage, when it comes out, it's more than a beast, it's a beast with a purpose that it's will strives for, the purpose of killing who caged it.

I will attack, and I will kill.

Suddenly, I hear a bump under my feet, and muffled voices beneath the floor. A flooring tile about two feet away moves, and it's pushed up.

A head pops out after it, a boy with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He looks around the room, at all the guards, and then at me. He whistles, "Wow, aren't you a mess?"

"Uh… dude?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"You kind of ruined the dramatic moment." I said, a bit annoyed.

"Oh." He said, "Sorry about that. By the way, are you Justin?"

I raised my eyes brow, looking uncertainly around the room, everyone seems at a loss, and this boy is sitting there with his head through the floor, like this happens every week. I look back at him, "Uh, yeah."

"Oh." He said, smiling, "In that case, BASE POSITION ALPHA EIGHT SEVEN SIX NINE!"

He springs out of the floor, pulling out a bow and loading an arrow in it. He rushed to me, putting his back to me, and facing the crowd behind me.

I groaned, "Dude, if you came here to save me, why the hell would you not bring more people!"

He looked around, as if surprised that he's alone. He put his finger in his ear, messing with what I guessed was a comm. Link, "I said, base alpha eight seven six nine."

There was a moment off silence, then flooring stones all over the place popped up, kids scrambling out with knives, guns, arrows, chains, pipes, even a kid with a frying pan. Over all, there had to be at least fifty of them. More than enough to outman the small gaggle of guards Jason had in this room.

They form a circle, me and the boy in the middle. I looked around, and suddenly, Raphael is in front of me, his grease stained face smiling brightly, "Hey there Todd."

I looked around in wonder at the small army, then back to Raphael, "Hotshot… how did you…"

"It was all Kyle's idea." He explained, "Kyle's team, his secret passages, hidden weapons stock, and his plans. Kyler convinced Kyle here to help you out."

I looked to my right, and there's Kyler, smiling at me, bow at the ready, "Ready to kick some Hitler styled over lord's butt?"

I smirked, "Am I ever!" I looked back to Kyle, then to Kyler, "Uh-"

"He's this universe's version of me." She explained. "Now, you;ve got a choice to make, you're wounded, more than we though, and those lacerations can't feel good." I nodded numbly, the pain creeping back into my mind, adrenalin rush was over. "We've got this universes version of you waiting down that hole," She pointed to the one Kyler had come out of, "And she can take you to a safe place while we fight. Or, you can stay and fight, but if you do…"

Raphael sighed, "Kyler made a deal with Kyle that if he helped us, you would kill Jason, now, before the initial shock wears off that a bunch of kids infiltrated their hide out, say you'll kill the guy already, or else Kyler's new crush will hate her, and she'll be heart broken."

Kyler sputtered, and Kyle turned bright red. I laughed, despite my situation, I laughed. What can I say? Hotshot made me laugh when there was nothing funny at all about my current placement. "Sure, I'll kill Mr. Hitler-Without-The-Beard."

Raphael smiled, "You'll need these." He handed me two pistols, and I took them, flipping them around a little in my hands.

"Let's rumble."

"But first!" Raphael said, grabbing my shoulder, "Something I've been wanting to do for awhile."

He was suddenly very close me, and before I could gun whip him for being so close, his lips were on mine. I froze, not really knowing what to do as he kissed me, one hand on my waist, the other in my short red hair.

He pulled away entirely to soon for me to register what just happened, smirking at me, "Amazing, I shut up Justine Todd."

I glared at him, and he laughed, "Just go kill the psycho, you can kick me in the balls later."

He didn't need to tell me twice I shoved past him, rushing at Jason. He snapped out of it immediately, dodging my bullets for a few minutes, before I shot him in the knee making him fall. I jumped on him, slamming my fists into his face, and then putting a bullet through each of his shoulders, so he wouldn't grab me. I wrapped my hands around his neck, fuming. "I'm going to kill you!"

He laughed, "Do it then!"

I let a grin creep across my face, "Not here, not like this."

I grabbed Jason by his collar, yanking him into the corner of the room, shoving him against the wall, and kicking him, over and over in the ribs until I knew they broke.

I looked over my shoulder again, the fight was over, kind of wish I got in on that action. Speedy walked over to me, eyebrow raised, "You ain't gonna finish him off?"

"You gonna tell my Grandpa on me?" I questioned.

She shook her head, "Whatever you do to him never leaves this room."

I nodded, glaring down at Jason, "It's uh, gonna take awhile."

She nodded, "Well, we certainly won't be sticking around for that, just follow the tunnels."

I nodded, waiting for them all to leave, until I turned to Jason, glaring down at him, "You're really gonna regret taking me into a room with barely any guards in it. Now, I hope you're ready to relive every thing you ever did to me."

He laughed, "Bring it on, Justy."

I smirked, picking up his own knife, "Don't call me that."

* * *

><p><strong>I know guys, it's been forever, and I miss Justin, but I've got other stories now, for Avengers, and Watchmen, soI'm mostly working on just them, but let me get one thing straight here, I AM NOT QUITTING THIS STORY! Justin's tales will go on!<strong>

**Now that's thats out of the way, Rapheal is gonna get kicked in the balls, by Justin, AND Justin's Dad! Whee! I'm so evil to poor little Hotshot! But hey, her dad is JASON FREAKING TODD! AND RAPHAEL KISSED HIS LITTLE GIRL! THERE WILL BE BLOOD!**


	53. Black Bat VS Black Hood

Kyler bit her lip, watching as Justin walked through the tunnel towards them, a pleased smile on her face, and a double limp on each leg. Her clothes were completely stained in blood, her hands drenched in it, and droplets littered her face.

Justin ignored anyone around her, walking right up to Kyler instead, "Kyler, thanks. I'm not to good at this kind of thing, so here it goes… I knew I could count on you to take charge. Nice job."

Mary scoffed, "Yeah Justin, you can cover up the pain anyway you want, and I'm really sorry to break up this heart wrenching moment, but if you lose even a small amount of blood, you're gonna die."

Dead silence settled over their small team, as the kids and teenagers from this new dimension scurried around, tending to wounded, passing out food stolen from Jason's fortress, and repairing damages to weapons.

Justin panicked, "Die! No, I can't die like this! I have to die after I become the red hood and take over for my father, and last time I check, my hood is still black!"

Mary groaned, grabbing Justin's shoulder and forcing her onto the ground, "Shut up Todd, I'll take care of it."

Snow spoke up, "If you require any assistance, I am quite skilled in repairing body damage."

Mary snorted, "Yeah, as much as I hate Justin, her body is still God's property, and I'm not letting you defile it, so keep your black magic spells away from her Necromancer."

Justin glared at Mary, "No one owns my body!"

"Take that up with Big G." Michael chuckled.

"And stop talking to Snow like that!" Conan snapped, "You don't know her at all!"

"I know she's a witch, she worships Satan. That's all I need to know." Mary concluded.

Gabriel sighed, "Mary, God spread love, not spite, tone it down a notch, would ya?"

"Um, church people, I'm dying." Justin reminded them.

"I don't worship this Satan you keep talking about." Snow whispered, frightened a bit by Mary's hostility.

"Just stay away from me." Mary hissed.

Justin groaned, "Gabriel! Hand me a bottle of holy water before Mary's spat with Snow kills me!"

Gabriel chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, I kind of drank mine."

"You've got to be kidding me." Raphael said, glaring at him.

Michael laughed, "I drank mine too, and Mary's."

Justin froze, "What?"

Mary sighed, "Relax, I know he drank my holy water, do you really think that's the only way I know how to heal somebody?"

"Don't keep it to yourself!" Justin snapped.

"Just lay down." Mary instructed.

Justin immediately laid down, and Mary ran her hands over a few wounds, muttering things in Hebrew. Where ever Mary's hands touched, Justin was left with a pleasant warm feeling over her skin.

After a few moments, Mary pulled back, "That's all I can do, I've sealed the wounds up properly, but I can do nothing to replenish your blood supply, you'll be weak, pale, and possibly sickly for awhile. Take it easy on yourself, believe it or not Justin Todd, you're only human, you can only take so much before your body fails you."

"Yeah, yeah." Justin mumbled. "The curse of mortality."

"Well, everyone has the possibility of eternity." Mary said, standing up and extending me her hand to help me up.

"Thanks clergy girl." Justin said, taking her hand, and she yanked me up, "Ow!"

"Did I forget to mention even though they're sealed, inside, the muscle is still torn and therefore causes pain?" Mary asked innocently.

Justin glared at her, and then babbled off curses in Russian. She raised an eyebrow, "What's that mean?"

"I don't feel comfortable saying it around bible toting people." Justin turned to Kyler, "So, any idea which button on the boom tube to try next?"

"Now hang on a minute!" Kyle said, stomping over to us, "You have to help us out around here, you killed Jason, sure, but what about Kim? She's just as bad, and even with him gone, she'll come back after you."

Justin groaned, "Great, psycho wife wants a daughter too?"

"She'll want revenge." Said a new voice, as a girl with shoulder length, pencil straight, jet black hair walked over.

Justin looked her up and down, it was the girl we had seen when we first arrived. She looked me up and down as well, before sticking her hand out for a handshake. Justin took it, "Justin Todd, also known as Black Hood."

She nodded, "Justine Cain, also known as Black Bat."

Justin frowned, but of course she couldn't see that behind my helmet. "In this universe… I'm the daughter of Cassandra Cain?"

She nodded, "And Jason Todd. There was a brief affair between the two years ago, Kim has no knowledge of it."

"And where is Cassandra Cain now?" Justin asked, but she already knew the answer.

Black Bat didn't even bat an eyelash, "Jason tracked her down and killed her three years ago, put her in the middle of his auditorium and made a show out of it in front of-"

"His elite guard squad." She said, suddenly realizing how my time in that room could have ended if it hadn't been for my team, and Kyle's team working together. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Is that what you tell everyone you encounter who's lost a relative?" She asked.

Conan Turned to Snow, "This Justin isn't like ours, she's emotionless, cold, stony… I like this one better."

Snow nodded, "All of the dangerous fighting without her mouth, a great improvement."

"It comes with the job of tracking down murderers." Justin explained, "I've said it so much, it's become a reflex. Sorry if I crossed some sort of line."

She shook her head, "I'm not offended in any way, after all, if I was offended by myself, I'd need serious therapy."

Justin Snorted, "Since when do we go to therapy? We're to awesome for that."

Black Bat chuckled, "Yeah, after all, if I'm in therapy, who's gonna run this joint? Kyle? That idiot clone of Kara, Conan?"

Justin laughed, "I like you, as long as your favorite color is black, we'll get along just fine."

Conan frowned, "I knew it was to good to be true."

Snow raised an eyebrow, "In this universe, you are a clone of Kara Kent?"

Conan groaned, "I will never be able to look at my aunt the same way again."

Kyler sighed, looking at Kyle, "Could you use any more help on the wounded?"

"Could I ever!" He said, "We've got a lot more sick than wounded from this little battle though, and now that we've revealed out passages into the castle, we'll have to destroy most of them."

Kyler frowned, "But everyone in that room died."

"Surveillance cameras, we've nearly been caught before." Kyle explained.

Kyler turned to Mary, "Do you think you and your team could tend to the wounded, or are you the only healer in your group?"

Mary looked a bit upset, "I'm the best, but Michael can fix a few deep cuts and bullet wounds, that's about it though."

"And Gabriel?"

"He's hopeless at it, he's a fighter, not a medic." Mary explained.

Kyle nodded, "Yeah, well, enough talking, you and him follow me, I'll show you where they all are. How are you with treating sickness?"

"Flawless at it, sickness, infections, flesh wounds, and certain types of cancer." She said, shrugging.

"Impressive, let's put it to work." He said.

Justin cleared her throat, "Yeah, but besides that, Kyler, you've figured out what button to press on the boom tube to send us home, right?"

"I haven't got a clue." She said, shrugging. "Black Bat here managed to slip into Jason's office, and steal back the boom tube, but I'm not a rocket scientist, so I don't know how it works."

"And I'm going to kill myself." She growled. Justin then sighed, looking at the rest of her team, "Alright, as soon as I get home, remind me to recruit a technopath onto our team."

"Will do." Raphael said, shooting her a thumbs up.

Justin glared at him, and he swallowed nervously, "Uh… look, about that kiss, seriously, please don't kill me for it."

Justin smirked, "I could, but my arms are killing me, and, I think letting my dad deal with it when we get home will be a much better punishment for it. And if you think I'm crazy, wait until he gets his hands on ya."

Raphael shivered, picturing what might happen.

Conan snorted, "Such a Daddies girl."

"You're one to talk." Justin sneered, "Even your name is a rip off, Super Kid? Seriously?"

"I am tired of people dissing my name!" Conan growled.

"Then change it." Snow suggested.

Black Bat suddenly spoke up, "Justin, are you a lesbian?"

Everyone stared at her. Justin turned red, "What!"

Black Bat shrugged, "It's just that Kyle and I have been romantically involved for quite some time, and since your 'Kyle' is a girl, I was just being curious."

Everyone's gaze turned to Justin, who get even redder under her hood. "I like boys."

Raphael raised his hand like a student in a school room, "I can testify to that."

"She could still be Bi." Conan offered.

Gabriel laughed, "Justin, you've got quite a team here."

Kyler nodded, "And hopefully we'll be expanding soon."

Justin sighed, "Kyler, I'm tired, I'm in pain, and I'm covered in someone else's blood as well as my own blood. I'll talk about recruitment, consider recruitment, when I'm home, in bed, and not in severe pain. Understood?"

"Sure." She said, with a look that said this discussion was not over.


	54. By The Way, I Hate You All!

Justin shiver, holding the boom tube carefully, "Alright, three buttons, this one on the left brought us here."

Kyler nodded, "So one of the other two _has _to send us back."

Raphael nodded, "I vote for middle."

Justin raised an eyebrow, "Middle?"

"Malcolm in the Middle is my favorite show." He said, shrugging.

"You can _not _be _that _dumb dude." Gabriel said, frowning.

"Hey, fifty-fifty chance, right?" Michael chimed in, his guess is as good as mine.

"And remember." Kyle prompted, "You'll come back to help."

Kyler nodded, "I'll send anyone the Justice League can spare, I'll make sure there's no way any of them can corrupt you, and a good amount of telepaths to undo all the brainwashing."

Kyle nodded, "Fine. Nice meeting… me."

Kyler nodded, "Yeah, I'm a pretty good person to know."

Black bat gave Justin a little salute, "I look foreword to working with you sometime."

Justin shrugged, "Sure, whatever, just kill Kim."

Conan took a deep breath, "Alright Justin, press the middle button, if it's not right, then we'll just press the last one immediately."

Justin nodded, taking a deep breath, and she pressed the middle button. Immediately, the sky seemed to open up, and wind sucked the team into the vortex, while Black Bat and Kyle dove for cover.

Justin was tossed to and fro inside the portal, which resulted in being slammed into Gabriel. He immediately grabbed onto her arm, "Everybody, grab onto each other! Then the trip wont be so violent!"

Raphael quickly grabbed onto Justin's other arm, and everyone else quickly linked their arms together. "Where do you think this portal's gonna drop us?" Mary screamed.

"Boom tubes are unpredictable!" Kyler screamed back to her, "It could be in Fiji for all we know! I'm actually surprised to come across such delicate machinery, never thought I'd live to see it, let alone use it!"

Justin laughed, "I knew from day one I'd eventually use one of these things, everyone in my family has, well, except my mom!"

"You're still an arrogant son of a, well, daughter of a, well no, you're mom is actually nice." Conan mulled, "You're a daughter of a freaking psycho!"

"Thank you!"

The portal suddenly shook, and Snow shouted, "Wait, you think that boom tube is a machine?"

"It is!" Kyler said, "I've looked over basic blue prints of Boom tubes before."

Snow shook her head, "That 'boom tube' is magic! I can feel it."

Everyone exchanged glances, until Raphael said, "Well, what's that mean!"

Snow turned to him, "It means, this Talia woman who set us up, and made Justin look like a favored fool-"

"Shut your mouth!" Justin shouted at Snow. "Or I swear to God, I will shoot you right in your mouth Snow!"

"It's not an insult!" Snow said, "Every person of power, they have a favorite person they consider beneath them that they love toying with, you just happen to be Talia's, she liked seeing what you can do, like watching a dog jump through hoops!"

"That's it!" Justin said, letting go of Raphael's hand and taking out a gun, before Gabriel stopped her.

"Justin, no shooting people inside a boom tube, you could mess with the space time continuum!" Gabriel snapped.

"Haven't you been listening?" Snow asked, "Talia made that with magic, she wanted Justin to be put in a certain place, and if what I'm guessing is correct, obtain the boom tube again, and be sent back to a certain place!"

"No, she sent me here to get rid of me." Justin argued.

"If that was true, she wouldn't risk sending a bunch of teenagers with you, who are basically a younger, more capable, and a containment of more members than this show Conan calls the A team!" Snow objected.

"Wait, you mean, she wants me to come back?" Justin asked, "But that tramp hates me!"

"Yes, but she's also obsessed with power, and she loves judging how much power a person has." Kyler pointed out, "And if she's ever proved wrong, she does _nothing _but push that person until they break, and therefore find out once and for all what power and abilities they hid, you've been being trained by some of the deadliest people in the world, which stands to reason, you've improved way beyond what standard she set for you. She's intrigued, and agitated, not a good combination when dealing with Talia Al Ghul!"

"I hate the fact your probably right!" Justin screamed, as she saw the exit coming up, "Oh crap-"

They were suddenly all deposited on hard, rocky floor, falling over each other and on top of one another. Mary suddenly yelped, "Ouch! Justin, your gun is on my face!"

"Be grateful it hasn't gone off yet! The safety isn't on!"

"WELL GET IT OUT OF MY FACE!" She screamed.

Justin pulled it back, clicking the safety on, "There, are you happy- oh no."

Everyone looked around, and fell silent. Hundred of assassins and ninja's lined the walls, pointed arrows, spears, knives, swords, and guns at them.

A tall, beautiful, proud looking woman stepped in front of them all, smiling down at Justin, "Welcome home."

Another silence settled over them, until another voice broke through it, "What's wrong, nothing to say?"

A woman with a black bob, hacked off so short that the back was cut like a boy's crew cut stepped forward, muddy brown eyes staring down at them.

Justin's eyes widened beneath her helmet, "Dunya." She growled out.

"Is that it?" She asked, "No hug for your adoptive mother?"

"… Dude." Justin said, looking at Kyler over her shoulder, "I just can't catch a break."

Raphael's eyes widened, "Wait, you have an adoptive mother?"

"Hardly." Justin growled, glaring up at Dunya. "She was more of a nanny with a whip. Got quite a few scars from her, starting from eight years old. And all these assassins around us, yeah, friends I grew up with, hey guys! Nice to see you all again."

Raphael turned to Dunya, a scowl on his features, "That's sick!"

Mary turned her eyes to Justin, "Do you have any friends that don't want to kill you?"

"Other than people on this team, no." Justin dismissed.

Michael spoke up, shrugging off Snow, who was clinging to him like a baby monkey to it's mother, "Guys, what's wrong with her?"

Conan gently pulled Snow away from him, "She's an emopath, she senses the aura of people, and my guess is that everyone here is an evil little sociopath."

Raphael sighed, "Looks like our necromancer is down for the count then."

"Great, we're screwed." Gabriel said, looking around at all the ninja around them, "And other than that fact we're surrounded by assassins, this is a pretty nice place."

"Must be Al Ghul manor." Kyler whispered.

"Enough." Talia commanded, "You will cease speaking immediately."

Justin stood up, looking Talia dead in the face, before a smirk spread across her face, "My mom gave you that black eye, didn't she?"

Talia scowled, "What makes you think that?"

"No one except people from my family could give you that big of a bruise, and it's to small to be Bruce's, Dick's Tim's, or my Dad's fist, but to big to be Damian's, and lets be honest here, Stephanie couldn't do that to you, and Cassandra, well, she doesn't know me at all, and I doubt she would care about Jason Todd's kid." Justin said, smirk growing.

"Did I teach you nothing?" Dunya snapped, "You do not speak that way to authority."

"She's not the boss of me." Justin said.

"She just so happens to have write a few assassins, with kill shots at your head Justine. Try thinking this one through, like I taught you." Dunya said, crossing her arms, and staring at Justin.

"First of all, it's Justin. Only one who calls me Justine is my grandmother." Justin snapped, "And second of all," She turned to Talia, "Let's get one thing straight! I have been shot through the space time continuum, dropped in the middle of a desert wasteland, and had to walk thirty eight miles, in the blistering heat, in costume!" She gestured down to her mostly leather apparel, "Then, I got the crap kicked out of me by an alien warrior princess, and her lackey archer boy toy!"

"Hey!" Kyler protested.

"Shut up archer girl!" Justin snapped, then turned back to Talia, "I have been knocked unconscious, taken to a scene out of The Hiding Place*, been threatened with my life from a way more insane version of my father, forced to fight for the right to own my life with my crazy father, and I lost! I got tortured for three days straight, in ways not even you prepared me for!" Justin screamed, "A few bullet shots and being left in a closet didn't prepare me for any of this! Then, I nearly got beaten with a crow bar, _again_! By someone even crazier than the Joker! In front of twisted versions of people, no, hero's that I've come to think of as… decent people, no, good friends over the years!"

Talia opened her mouth to talk, but Justin didn't let her, "I have never experienced this kind of pain in my entire life!" She yanked her jacket off, shoving her arms up so Talia could see the lacerations, angry red and purple lined tearing up and down her arms, "And those aren't even half of the damage, I feel like my whole body is on fire! And by the way, icing on the cake, I wind up _here_, the _hell _of my childhood, where there's every one I know form that messed up childhood, pointing weapons at me, ready to take my head off! By the way, I hate you all!"

Justin pulled out a gun, cocking it, and pointing it at Talia's forehead. "So, if you really want a piece of me Al Ghul, bring it on!"

Talia stood, calm, unmoved, before stepping to the side, and gesturing for Justin to walk past her.

Justin stood, stalk still, gun at the ready, "I'm not falling for anything, you get the-"

"Todd!" Snapped a very annoyed voice, "If you are quite finished with your overly dramatic, 'hero's ending battle' speech of hardship, loss, and loyalty, if you would be kind enough to accompany me to the Bat jet, it's waiting outside."

Justin's jaw dropped, as Damian, clad in black slacks and a dark blue button up shirt, walked down from the hall Talia had gestured to. She let her gun fall to her side, "I never thought I'd be so glad to see you, you loveable little demon child!"

Damian froze, "Todd, no, don't you dare-"

Justin scooped Damian up into a hug that would give Dick a run for his money. She spun him around, "Oh gosh, Damian, you, you, you, you _great guy_, you!"

Damian growled as Justin's team tried to stifle laughter, "Your inability with the English language amuses me, now, PUT ME DOWN!"

Justin let Damian go, giving him a quick noogies, "I love my family!"

Damian snorted, shoving past her, "Do not be ridiculous, I did not come save you out of some family related bond, I came to save you because everyone's distress at you being MIA has become quite annoying."

"Right." Justin said, "Of course."

Everyone filed out of the room quickly, following Damian out the door, where the Bat jet was waiting. Mary spoke up, "Um, there's only two seat on that."

"Correct." Damian said, taking one seat while Justin took the last. "I trust several of you can fly, and therefore get home just fine."

The plane took off, leaving them there. Justin smirked at Damian, "That was mean."

"Yes, well, I care about my sister far more than them." Damian said, then froze, realizing what he had called Justine. "You will forget I ever said that Todd."

"Sure thing Wayne."

*The Hiding Place was a movie about Corrie Ten Boom, a woman who lived during the holocaust, who got sent to an extermination camp, and survived, but witnessed her older sister Becky die there. It's a book, and a major motion picture. I recommend you read the book first.


	55. Holy Hell

"Damian!" Justin groaned, curling up in her seat, "I want Alfred!"

"IF YOU DO NOT STOP WHINING, I AM PULLING THIS JET OVER MADAM!" Damian screamed, tense at the wheel.

"But it hurts!" Justin protested, cradling… well, her whole body.

"I thought Mary patched them up." He growled.

"She made the skin over the wounds reattach, but that only stopped the blood flow." Justin groaned, "The muscle is still all torn."

"Why didn't you just grab some water from the Lazarus pit?" Damian asked.

"BECAUSE I FORGOT!" Justin yelled. "Are we there yet?"

"YES!" Damian yelled, flying into the bat cave, and parking the jet.

"Oh thank God!" Justin said, jumping out of the plane, and rushing to the medical wing, "Alfred, I need pain killers!"

Justin ruffled through the shelves, found a bottle of valium, and proceeded to read the label, trying to figure out how much to give herself.

"I wouldn't Todd."

Justin turned around to see Kyler, her speed outfit dripping wet, mud caked into her hair, and a bruise over her left eye. "Oh, you made it back I see."

"YES I MADE IT BACK!" Kyler screamed, "After you left us in Russian, outside of a guild full of assassins!"

"Now don't blame me." Justin snapped, "That part was _all _Damian, I assure you."

Kyler sighed, plopping down in a chair, "Where are our parents?"

Damian walked in, trailed by Conan, Raphael, and Snow, "Apparently, the holy people went back to their church upon entering Gotham. I've notified your friends guardians, and they're proceeding to arrive. Super Wimp sees particularly distressed."

Conan glared at Damian, "Don't talk about my dad like that."

"Yes, well, seeing as Super was the only word pertaining to him I used, you might be surprised to learn I was actually speaking of you." Damian said.

"I'm not distressed." Conan argued.

"From what I hear, your claustrophobia kicked in at quite the inconvenience." Damian debated, turning to walk away.

Raphael rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, I guess you'll be telling your Dad on me, huh?"

Damian froze, turning to look back on the conversation, the black mailing part of his brain telling him what an opportunity this was.

Justin shook her head, "Not yet. I'd like to see how paranoia affects you first."

Damian turned to Justin, "Tell your father something that would make him want to kill Raphael, that no doubt has something to do with you?"

Everyone looked at Damian, and Justin could have sworn she saw a light bulb light right above his head. "He touched you in some romantic way!"

Damian's sword was out before anyone could blink, and Justin quickly tackled him, "You're not gonna tell anyone about this!"

"WHERE DID HE TOUCH YOU!" Damian growled.

Superboy suddenly flew in, tackling Super Kid, "Conan!" He got off of her, yanking her up with him, pulling her into a bone crushing hug, "It's okay, Daddy's here." He said, sounding like he was going to cry.

Justin cackled, "Oh man, Conan, that's so weak."

Conan glared at her, "Shut up Todd."

Roy Harper rushed in, with Kyler's mom, Anna, right behind him, and they both almost body tackled Kyler, wrapping their arms around her as kisses were pressed against her forehead, cheeks, and nose, with phrases like "I love you" and "I was so worried" and even, "You're coming home right now, no superhero work for quite awhile" thrown at her.

Kyler just smiled, "Love you too guys."

"MY BABY!"

Justin eyes widened, "Oh no-"

Kim rushed into the room, throwing her arms around Justin, petting her hair, saying "Everything's gonna be alright, mommy's here" and other stuff that just flat out embarrassed Justin.

Conan smirked, as her dad held her in one hand, and Snow in the other, hugging them both, seeing as there was no one else to be glad about Snow coming home. "Yeah, sure, my dad's the wimp? Pretty sure that's your mom."

"Your mom!" Justin snapped.

"I don't have a mother." Conan said, glaring at her.

"That's why mine is better!" Justin hissed.

"Justin."

Kim's hug seemed to just dissipate, as Jason entered the room, locking eyes with Justin. Thoughts of their last conversation entered Justin's mind, and she bit her tongue, thinking how stupid she had been. Yes, her father had been unfair, but not everything that was wrong with her life was his fault. It wasn't him who had run from Gotham, pregnant, trying to hide. As much as Justin hated to admit it, Kim was responsible for a lot of the stuff wrong with her.

"Uh… hi Dad." Justin mumbled.

Jason gave her a stiff nod, turning, and walking away. Rango dashed in, with Kenya on his back, tackling Justin, and showering her with licks and barks, "I love you too Hell Hound!"

Kenya wrapped her arms around Justin's neck, "I missed you! I thought you were dead!"

Justin struggled up, trying to get Rango to stop jumping on her, and hugged Kenya tightly, "Aw, come on Kenya, you know very well I'm not gonna get killed by some evil other dimensionally over lord resembling… John Wayne." Justin stuttered, not wanting Kenya to know who the 'over lord' really looked like, and who he was.

"Smooth Todd." Conan smirked, trying to gently pull away from her dad, and not succeeding, as he guided her and Snow out of the cave, probably going to take them to the farm.

"Justin!" Yelled Nightwing, dashing into the cave.

"Oh no." Justin muttered, seeing that look in his eye that said he wanted hugs.

Justin made a mad dash for the door, but Nightwing tackled her, rolling around onto the floor until he was able to yank her onto his lap, wrapping his arms and legs around her to prevent her from scrambling away. His hug was extremely tight, and Justin all but gasped as Nightwing said, "You're alive! You aren't dead! Jesus, never do that again, do you have any idea how worried we all were! Alfred was on a cleaning spree for three days! Three days I tell you!"

"I'm… sorry." She gasped.

After what felt like an hour, Dick finally released her, and Justin scrambled away form him, dashing out the door, hightailing it away from all the hugs, and running into Batman.

Justin glared up at him, "If you try to hug me, I'm going to bite your freakin head off."

He just shook his head, rubbing his forehead through his cowl, as if trying to push away a headache Justin had caused him. She dashed around him, up the stairs, down the hall, up a few more stairs, down the left hall, and then ran into the third room on the right. She slammed the door behind her, sighing in relief. "That's over."

She turned around to collapse on her bed to sleep away the cuts and burning, but it was occupied, by her father, sitting on the edge of her bed, a picture in his hands. He didn't acknowledge her, and after awhile, she took a few steps forward, looking at the picture he wouldn't stop staring at.

It was her, on her fifteenth birthday, standing with her parents and grandparents, smiling at the camera.

Jason had thrown his arm over Justin's shoulders, and as soon as the picture had been taken, he had pulled her into a headlock, yanking her into a noogie.

"That was a fun day." Jason whispered.

"… Yeah." Justin agreed. "Best birthday ever."

A silence settled over them, and Justin couldn't help but think that her father was wishing that Justin was still like she used to be, younger, not as much of a handful, did whatever he told her to, without getting mad about it. She couldn't help it if she had grown up, she couldn't help it if she wanted to live her own life, and make her team better. She didn't want to stay as a side kick, she could be so much more that that, and Jason was holding her back.

But she still shouldn't have said that to him. And despite what he thought, she wasn't a child, she could swallow her pride, even if it was just to say one sentence.

"Dad, I'm sorry for what I said, I didn't mean it, and you didn't deserve-"

Jason grabbed Justin by her arm, yanking her into a hug, and Justin felt him tremble, like he was trying to hold back tears.

"I was way to worried to be angry with you." Jason whispered, rubbing her back, like she was ten years old all over again. "And I didn't do anything to get you back. I tried, you've got to believe me, I tried, but I couldn't."

Justin felt him tremble again, and Jason shuddered, "Your mom was the one who found out it was Talia, and Damian was the one who figured out what Talia's plan was, he got you back."

Justin wrapped her hands around Jason's neck, "It's okay, only thing that got me home was what you taught me. And I really am sorry for what I said."

"It's okay." Jason said, "But if you ever talk to me like that, I'm going to smack the holy hell out of you, and take you over my knee like a six year old."

Justin laughed, taking as a joke, until she pulled away from the hug, and saw her father was dead serious. She swallowed, suddenly very aware that while her dad was alright with, and even encouraged her to smart mouth other adults, like Dick, Bruce, all her teachers, and _especially _Tim, if she ever talked that way to him, she was in deep trouble.

"Uh… can we go back to hugging instead?"

"Sure thing Justin, but your still not working with the Teen Titans."

"Yeah, we'll talk about that later." Justin said, knowing eventually, she'd get what she wanted.


	56. I'M NOT GAY!

"Wanna tell me why you aren't at home, eating Alfred's welcome home dinner?" Kyler asked, staring at me from the doorway while I typed away at the main computer at DR Headquarters.

"Why aren't you watching cartoons with you Mom, little brother, and little sister, or sitting on a rooftop with your Dad smoking and drinking?" I shot back.

"Already done." Kyler said, "Except the smoking and drinking part, I'm underage."

"I didn't know you stopped smoking." I mused, watching the video screen.

"Dad tried to force me into it awhile back, I just kept buying new lighters, but eventually, I got tired of hacking up a storm in the middle of the night, and my clothes smelling like smoke." Kyler said, shrugged, "And I realized I didn't wanna die from smoking. I've got a much bigger bow to take up one day, you know? And smoking might have stopped that."

"Whatever." I brushed off.

Kyler frowned, "So why are you here? I thought Alfred demanded you be put on bed rest, and you weren't allowed to leave your room."

"I'm not a child, I can damn well decide if I'm well enough to leave my room!" I snapped. I've heard this same lecture several times today from Alfred, Bruce, Uncle Dick, my mother, Tim, even Damian!

"Hmm, what'd your dad say?"

"Slip out the back gate when no one's watching." I waved off, "Now, you're disturbing me."

"Whatcha doin?" Kyler asked, walking over and reading over my shoulder.

"Running every possible scenario of me telling Dad about Raphael kissing me, and trying to find one that doesn't end in his death." I said.

"I thought you wanted your Dad to kill him, cause you didn't like the kiss." Kyler said.

I cleared my throat, "I never said I didn't like it."

Kyler stared at me like I'd grown another head, "You _liked _it? Oh my God, you're crushing on _Raphael_!"

"Silence!" I snapped, grabbing Kyler's throat tightly with one hand, fighting back a blush, "I'll kill you!"

She snorted, pulling away from my grip, "Justin, if only you knew who you sounded like right now."

"My father?"

"No." She said, and left it at that. "Now, have you decided on what you're gonna wear?"

"For what, patrol?" I asked.

"No, you're first date with him!" Kyler said, smiling like a freaking _teenage girl_… oh…

"We haven't even talked about a date Kyler." I protested. _Besides, I don't have any clothes in my closet that aren't t-shirts, ripped up jeans, and leather jackets. I don't even have a __**skirt**__! Or heels, or even __**sandals**__! I have combat boots, and old worn out sneakers for gym, and only one pair at that, they were a hand-me-down from __**Tim**__!_

"Well, if you liked the kiss, you'll go on one with him eventually." Kyler said, rolling her eyes.

"I don't get this!" I groaned, "I _hate _Raphael! I beat the crap out of him _daily_! He's not my knight in shining armor, and I'm not some damsel in distress! There is no hint of traditional _romance _in the entire arrangement!" I slammed my head down on the desk, "I've _never _liked a boy before, ever! And I grew up in the League of Assassins, every boy there is a mini Taylor Lautner! They're all independent, strong, highly skilled mini-men that can catch a bullet with their teeth! None of them would have _any_ problems getting _any_ girl to fall for their body, they were _that_ freaking hot!"

"And that's why you went for Raphael." Kyler said. "He's not some big tough guy that'll smother you and try and fight your battles, he's going to need _you _to save _him_. He's not an assassin, guy could barely through straight punch when you met him, and you found that _cute_, because it was _different_."

I shook my head, "Kyler, you have _got _to be a therapist when you get older."

"I'll stick with being your only friend, I'll have more to deal with than _any _therapist in Arkum Asylum." Kyler chuckled.

"Alright, then solve this, how do I tell my dad?" I asked.

"Go to your mom first." She said, "Mothers love this kind of thing, and there's only one person your dad will ever listen to, and that's your mom."

"… Kyler, I ever tell you how much I love the fact you're my second in command instead of Conan?"

"You're just happy it's not Conan, you would have taken Hell Hound as your second in command if you could have." She said, rolling her eyes.

"That's the best idea you've ever had!"

**LATER ON, IN WAYNE MANOR:**

"Hey mom, how old were you when you met dad?" I asked, sitting down next to her on the couch. Best to go with the excuse '_I'm just as old as you were when you started dating_' like Kyler told me to do.

"I was sixteen."

Drat. Year older than me, well actually, only one month and two weeks older than me.

Mom looked up at me, "Why do you ask?"

"Um, well, there's this guy-"

Mom's eyes widened, "Wait, you like a boy?"

"Um, yeah, why?"

"Well I just thought… never mind."

"Mom."

"Fine." She sighed, "I thought you were gay."

"MOM!" I shouted, feeling my face turn red.

"What did you expect?" She asked, "You walk around in boxers, you don't wear anything that makes you look like a girl, and you keep your hair chopped off at the neck. To put the icing on the cake, you never seemed to have any interest in boys, and fought Kyler tooth and nail about recruiting one onto the team."

I sighed, "Mom, I like boys."

She chuckled, "Well, as long as that's out of the way, is this boy you're talking about Raphael?"

I froze, "How did you know?"

She smiled, "Justin, I might not be a detective, but I'm no idiot. I see the way he looks at you."

"Uh yeah, so, I was wondering, would it be cool if me and him were to, I don't know, hang out sometime?" I asked.

"Justin, I need you to listen to me very closely. I know you like this boy, and he likes you. Now, sometimes when a boy and a girl like each other, they kiss. That's perfectly fine. But that's all that needs to happen, okay?" Kim explained.

"Alright Mom." I said, "Besides, he hasn't even asked me to do anything with him yet, ever since that kiss on Universe Hitler." Me and Kyler had come up with that name as a running joke, seeing as Jason had been a modern day Hitler.

"He kissed you already?" She asked, surprised. "Never let your father hear that, okay?"

"Never let me hear what?" Dad asked, walking in.

"Damian has a crush on Kenya." I blurted out. It wasn't true, but it was the first thing that popped into my mind.

Dad froze, before yanking out his knife and running up the stairs to Damian's room shouting, "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"

Mom gave me a look, "Justin, you should know better than to use your father's rage against him like that, someone could get hurt."

I snorted, "Yeah, the demon child."

I turned around to leave, "Thanks for the talk mom."

"Anytime baby."

**LATER, IN THE BAT CAVE, TRAINING:**

"I hate you Todd." Damian glared as he laid on the bench pressed, lifting the weights up and down.

I smirked form the pull up bar, doing the sixteenth one. "I know, I was a bit overly cruel this time around. How do you plead for compensation?"

"What's your offer?" He asked, putting the weight down, and sitting upright on the bench.

I dropped down from the bar, taking out my phone, and pulling up a picture showing him. His eyes widened, "When did you paint my fathers fingernails red?"

"He was sleeping in his office." I said, smirking. "This was a piece of cake."

"My father hardly ever does that." Damian said, suspicious. "And he is a very light sleeper. Not even you could have done that."

My smirk widened, remembering the pills I had slipped into his midnight tea, "A good assassin never reveals her secrets."

"What did he do when he found out about this?" Damian asked, astonished I would _ever _pull something like this. Putting graffiti in the watchtower reading 'Superman sucks,' dyeing Green Arrow's outfit pink, putting Damian himself into a fairy princess costume, forcing Tim to wear a wedding dress, and tricking Martian Manhunter into dressing up as Super Girl for Halloween? Not a big deal. But doing something like this, to _Batman_? I could easily be killed.

"He never got enough proof that it was me." I said, chuckling, "And even if he did, I'm Daddy's little girl. He can't touch me."

"One day Todd, you won't have that failsafe, what happens then?" Damian questioned, shoving the picture into his pocket.

"I'll be screwed, what of it?"

"Just as long as you know."

Alfred walked in, scowling at me. "Miss Justin, I must insist you return to your bedroom immediately! Although you might not be bleeding, your muscle damage will not repair itself with pull ups!"

Damian snickered as I trudged up to my room, "Atta girl Todd."

I looked over my shoulder at him, did he just talk to me like a dog?

He gave a little whistle, jerking his chin to the top of the stairs, like one would a dog.

I walked back over to him, despite Alfred's protest, and glared down at him, "Damian, it's not smart at all to pick a fight with me, now, apologize."

"No."

I tackled him, shoving my fists into his stomach, "I'll kill you!"

Alfred sighed as we tussled, "I wonder when she'll figure out he does it just to provoke her for his amusement."


	57. Old Married Couple

I grabbed my coffee mug, and practically swallowed it, whole chugging down as much of it as I could, before slamming it back down onto the table.

"Rough night?" Raphael asked, he was sitting down at the table, feet propped up on it, nose deep in a comic book.

"Try an all nighter." I growled.

"You've done worse before." He said.

""For three nights straight." I snapped.

He looked up at me, "Oh."

I shook my head, "I don't even know what I'm gonna do when school starts up again."

"Doesn't school start Monday?" He asked "As in, two days?"

"I should have tried to get back on my normal sleep schedule last week." I mumbled, sitting down across from him, "But my hood wouldn't shut up. '_Crime doesn't sleep, so neither does Justice! You are Justice! You are the Black Hood! You're Justin freaking Todd! Grab your gun, and steal the Bat mobile! You can sleep in math class, not like you listen anyway!_' Honestly, I'm beginning to consider a therapist."

He paused, looking up, "If your helmet was talking to you, I highly recommend it."

I frowned into what was left of my coffee, looking around the DR kitchen. "Yeah, I'm not so sure I wanna go up to a stranger and talk to them about things that are none of their business."

Raphael smirked, "Ya know, I think you'd actually like it. For forty five minutes, everything is about you."

I paused, before grabbing last nights patrol reports. "Sounds like it was made simply to inflate egos. I like the sound of it."

Silence hung over us as he read his comic book, and I read over the reports, until Conan and Snow walked in, and Conan smirked, "Look at you two, you're like an old married couple. You reading, him reading, kind of cute."

Raphael didn't even look up from his comic book, "If we were an old married couple, the wife would serve ice tea and snicker doodles."

"I don't have ice tea." I said, not looking up from the reports, "And I have no idea how to make snicker doodles."

"A good wife would go to the store." He shot back.

"I want a divorce." I commanded, turning to the next page.

"On your way to see the lawyer, go by the store." He offered.

We both paused, before looking up at each other, and laughing. Conan shook her head, "Nice to see you two are having a good morning."

I put the papers down, revealing dark circles under my eyes, and Conan winced, "Yikes. Someone didn't get her full four hours."

I paused, "Humans need eight hours, at least."

She shrugged, "Well kryptonians only need about two, I'm only a quarter kryptonian really, so I only need four. I'm guessing Dad needs three, but he takes five."

I shook my head, "Conan, I think Batman must be part kryptonian then."

Conan and Snow sat down with us, and Hot Shot piped up, "Conan, you have a good morning? You look beat."

"Rough weekend." She said.

"Poor baby." I said sarcastically. "What's wrong? Luthor shoot kryptonite at you again?"

"No." She said, then sighed, "You guys might was well know. I'm gay."

Silence.

"Rough weekend means I came clean to my family, and they weren't that enthusiastic." She said, rubbing her forehead, as if she was recalling the awkwardness.

Raphael piped up, "They weren't, like, condemning you were they?"

I smirked, "How'd Superman take it?"

"Okay first off." She snapped, "No, they weren't condemning me, okay? And he's Superman, the all American Man of Steel, how do you think he took it?" She sighed, laying her head down on the table. "It was the most embarrassing weekend of my life, alright? Nuff said."

I shrugged, "Hey, I'm cool, working with a lesbian. I'm just glad the gay torch isn't in my hand anymore. I'm getting tired of Uncle Dick asking me 'Are you sure? Cause I can totally hook you up with some hotties I know!' And Tim is all 'Nothing to be ashamed of, you were just born that way' Which is completely inaccurate."

"What do you mean?" Conan asked.

"There's no difference between a gay person's DNA and a straight person's DNA. No one's 'just born that way'." I explained.

"So, why am I like this?" She asked, "I didn't choose be this way, I just… I don't like boys."

"Well, you know how some guys prefer girls with blonde hair instead of red hair?" I asked, "There's nothing in his DNA that makes him fancy one hair color over the other, it all just depends on what you're attracted too."

Raphael looked up, "What are you attracted too?"

I paused, looking over the table at him, "Excuse me?"

"You said some guys prefer blonde over red? Complete opposite with me by the way. I was just wondering, what do you like?" He said, and that makes me pause, just for a moment, before I came out and said it.

"Are we ever going to talk about what happened?"

Silence settled over us, until Conan shot up from her seat, "I'm gone."

Snow followed her out the door, "Right behind you."

Raphael shrugged, "It's not like it's a big deal, just a kiss, and you-"

"_Just _a kiss?" I asked, frowning. "Look, even I know, you don't kiss someone like that if it's not a big deal."

He paused "Well, it's simple, I like you, I kissed you. You kissed back."

I was silent for a moment, contemplating that, before I asked, "So, what happens now?"

He hesitated a moment, "I don't know."

I ground my teeth together, before standing up, leaving.

**LATER THAT NIGHT, AT WAYNE MANOR:**

I walked into the living room, seeing Dad playing a video game with funny block looking people on it. "Dad?"

He didn't even look at me, "Hmm?"

"What are you playing?"

"That new Lego batman game." He said, "They have my character on here, and I finally got enough points to buy Nightwing."

I paused, watching him play, "So, are you ever gonna play the game, or are you just gonna keep breaking Uncle Dick?"

He grinned, "This is the best video game ever."

"… When you're done, can I play? Damian stuck a stink bomb into my closet last night, and Grandpa said I can't Kidnap him and put him into the tiger cage at Gotham City Zoo. Don't know why." I explained.

"Let me get this straight, over something as petty as a stink bomb, you wanna take your aggression out by breaking the Robin character on a video game instead of just shrugging it off and using your time to train or study?" He asked. I nodded. He smirked, "Never been more proud of you kid."

"Why haven't you asked Mom to marry you yet?" I asked.

He jerked up, the remote control flying from his hands, and he whipped his head around to stare at me. "WHY!?"

"Just wondering. I mean, you live together, you act just like you're married, but you refuse to do it for real. Is there some kind of distrust still lingering from you, or are you just terrified of marriage?" I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets.

He paused, before sighing, "Justin, has the love of your life ever suddenly disappeared, taking the reason you've let yourself continue living with them, making you feel like you did something wrong? You tried so long to figure it out, going over everything you ever said to them, finding nothing that might have made them run, and finally deciding it was because they wised up and found someone better than you, deciding you weren't even worth telling?"

"... no."

"Exactly, and ya know what? That's a good thing." Dad took out a cigarette, lighting it, and taking a breath from it, good thing Alfred wasn't here. "I'm really, really glad that you haven't experience that. You don't need to, it's unnecessary. I've gotta say, I'm one of the luckiest dads around, my girl isn't even interested in boys. You've never even kissed one."

I looked away from him immediately. "Uh, yep. Never kissed a boy."

Jason's cigarette fell out of his mouth, and he stared at Me for a few moments, before saying, "I want the name Justin."

"Bye Dad!" I cried, running out of the room as fast as I could.

Dad jumped up from the couch, running after me, "Young lady you come back here and tell me the name this instant!"

"MOM HELP!"


	58. I Write Sins Not Tragedies

Stephanie laughed, staring down at me under the desk, "How long are you going to hide under there?"

"Until Dad either falls asleep, or gives up and grabs a pack of beer." I hissed.

"What a great role model." She grumbled, rolling her eyes. Stephanie didn't see me much, but she was always trying to shove herself into the role of my older sister. See, before I came along, she was the only girl in the bat family for awhile, cause Cass is in Hong Kong, and Barbra is a _woman_, not a girl. Same story with Batwoman, the name is self explanatory.

"Don't judge him!" I snapped.

She sighed, shaking her head, "Whatever, I can't really hate the guy, he gave me my favorite little psychopath."

"I am not a psychopath!" I protested. "I'm just a little bit twisted."

"Aren't we all?"

"You're not." I snapped. As far as bats went, and if you didn't count my mother, Stephanie was the only completely sane one of us.

She shrugged, staring down at me as I hide under the bat computer. "I keep hanging out with you, that's apt to change."

"Then leave." I ordered.

She turned around, walking away, "Fine, I've got an investigation anyways."

I rolled my eyes, "Stupid blonde."

"I heard that." She called over her shoulder.

Whatever. If she got mad, I could take her.

I crawled out from under the desk, making a bee line for my motorcycle. The minute I grabbed the handle, someone reached out, grabbing my shoulder and yanking me away from it. Tim.

He looked at me, panic flooding his face. "Tim, why do you have a black eye?"

"Because your dad is crazy! He keeps shouting at me, thinking I know something about a boy who apparently kissed you!" He said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "Justin, do you realize what you've done!?"

"What?" I asked.

"You've triggered something that hasn't been seen in Gotham since Batman found me drugged, beaten by a lead pipe, and stuffed into the trunk of a car, left in a Wal-Mart parking lot on a summer day!" Tim exclaimed, "Justin, even if you did this in accident, you've triggered something deep within your father, something he just wasn't meant to do!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, shrugging out of his grip.

"You've made your dad go Daddy-Bat's crazy! I know you've seen the Daddy-Bat's glare before! Imagine him acting like that, all the time, to _everyone_!" Tim a shouted, "He's yelling at Alfred right now Justin, _Alfred_! He think everyone but him knew about that boy kissing you."

"Well what am I supposed to do!?" I snapped.

"You've got to tell him the name Justin!" Tim demanded.

"No!" I snapped. "He'll totally kill Hot Shot!"

Tim froze, "It was Raphael?"

"… Crap."

"Justin, you have to tell." Tim demanded, "Or else, Daddy-Bat's is _going _to kill us all!"

"Shut up Tim!" I snapped, "Look, if I do that, he'll kill Hot Shot. I'll think of something, okay?"

He sighed, "Fine, but do it soon."

I nodded, "Sure."

**ONE DAY LATER, MONDAY MORNING:**

I groaned, looking out the window at the school, sighing as Alfred gave me a look, "Need we repeat an argument we've gone over seven times just this morning, Miss Justine?"

"No Alfred." I mumbled, getting out of the car, slinging my backpack over my shoulder, sighing. Alfred drove off, and I glared at the school with malice, summer was over, school was here. I wanted to shoot something. I wanted to shoot something repeatedly.

Someone shoved past me, an older boy, about seventeen, bleach blonde hair, and grey blue eyes, he looked over his shoulder, sneering at me, "Watch where you're going, ginger!"

I growled as he walked off, "I'm not a ginger, I'm a red head."

I knew that guy, his name was Josh. He was the only kid around here dumb enough to try and cross me. It was actually a bit impressive, the nerve he had. But hey, nerve will get you killed if you can't back it up. And he couldn't.

I smirked, taking out my phone, and quickly sent a text to dad. 'His name is Josh, we have AP chemistry and AP geometry together.'

Now all I have to do is sit back, and watch Dad sabotage Josh's life. Perfect entertainment for the first day of school. I ran off to English class, one of the only classes I liked. Why did I like it? Because all we do all day long is read, and then answer questions about the book. Now, normally I don't really like to read, but when I do read something, if I get into 'the zone' so to speak, I can remember it word for word most of the time. It's not a photographic memory, but if I read something, I can usually remember.

On the way to class, I saw a girl I knew, Valiant, leaning up against the wall. I knew her, she was Conan's friend. I had met her before, and dumped a Dixie cup of beer onto her mohawk. Last time I saw it, it had been neon blue. Now, it was black with red streaks running through it. Her ears were still littered with piercings, but I could see she had added a nose ring.

"Valiant?" I asked, looking her over. She was wearing a black and red corset, black leather jeans, and red combat boots with metal tips.

"Do I know you?" She asked, regarding me coldly. "Cause you don't look like someone I would know."

I looked down at my clothes, boot cut jeans with holes in the knees, red t-shirt with the Limp Bizkit logo on the front, black combat boots and my signature leather jacket. Guess I wasn't hard core enough for her, strutting around with all those chains hanging off her jeans. But honestly, she overdid it. I find rebellion can be achieved with a band t-shirt and combat boots.

"I know you through Conan."

She paused, "Oh yeah, you're that Justin kid, right?"

"Yeah."

She smiled, looking around the now empty hallway. "You ditching?"

I looked around, "Why not? I'm already late, might as well just ditch. What are you doing here anyways? I thought you lived in Metropolis."

She shrugged, "I got kicked out of all the schools there. Dad's company moved here, so he gets to stop home schooling me, and I get to raise hell in Gotham."

I smirked, "Cool, but just so you know, I hold the record around here."

Valiant smirked right back, "Guess I better tag along with you then, wanna show this transfer the ropes around here?"

"I'd be happy to." I said, leading her down the hallway, "First thing you gotta know, lunch sucks, but the pizza place down the road has great food, and prices. Plus, the workers won't rat on you for cutting school to get descent food for lunch."

She nodded, "Got it. Where we headed?"

"Justin!" Someone called.

I whirled around, seeing Raphael rushing down the hall, "Justin!"

"I'm going to kill Bruce."

He reached me, pulling out a class schedule, "Hey, where's English II? It's my first class, and I don't know my way around, but Speedy said you went to school here, so-"

"Well hey there sexy." Valiant said.

Raphael stopped, staring at her. "Excuse me?"

"You're hot." Valiant explained. "Wanna hang sometime?"

I grit my teeth, "English II is at the end of the hall, last door on the right."

Raphael nodded, "Uh, thanks see you around Justin, and uh?"

"Valiant." She told him, winking. "Wanna do lunch? Justin tells me there's a great pizza right down the street. You up for it?"

Raphael paused, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. Valiant paused, "Oh, are you two together or something?"

"No." "Yes."

My and Raphael stared at each other, "We aren't?" "We are?"

Valiant rolled her eyes, "Whatever, guess I'll be looking for a different boy toy to buy my lunch."

Raphael stumbled over his words, before running to English. Valiant turned to me, "So, he's not your boyfriend?"

"That's the impression I had." I mumbled, "Guess he thinks different."

"Was he just a one nighter?"

"What!?"

"Hey," She said, holding her hands up in surrender, "I get how it is. Hot boy, doesn't have a clue, you snatch him up for the night. He get's clingy, I've done it before, hell, we all have."

"… How old are you?"

"Sixteen, you?"

"Sixteen, just turned it last week." And no one remembered. Not even me. Not until now. Everyone knew when I turned fifteen, but sixteen? Not even a cupcake. I can't complain, if I can't remember my own birthday, how can I expect anyone else to?

"Congrats." She said, "Now, how was he?"

"I didn't have sex with him." I snapped.

"You're a virgin aren't you?" She asked, smirking.

I glared at her, "Something wrong with that?"

She shook her head, "Naw, it's cute."

I paused, something in that tone suggested… "Uh, are you…?"

"Bi." She answered. "Something wrong with that?"

"Not at all." I shot back, "It's cute."

"Don't get me wrong kid, you're cute too, but you're not my type, at all. Ginger's creep me out." She laughed.

"… No wonder you're Conan's friend."

"She come out of the closet yet?" She asked, as we walked out of the school, towards the soccer fields.

"Yeah, how did you know-"

"I can tell the signs, not interested with boys, but most of her friends are guys, and keeps her head down whenever she walks past the Victoria Secret at the mall." She explained, "Kid was crushing on me for awhile. She make a move on you?"

"No, I'm straight." I explained, "Come on, there's this spot under the bleachers that-"

"Whoa there hot stuff, I'm a classy girl, I demand at least an air mattress."

"Shut up Valiant." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Sorry, forgot you're a virgin." She teased.

"Anyways, no one can see you under the bleachers." I explained. "Perfect for listening to inappropriate music, or making a stink bomb to put in the cheer leaders locker room."

Valiant smiled, "Ya know what, I think I'm gonna stick around this school. How do you know Conan again?"

"Her dad and my brother are besties." I said, rolling my eyes, "Tried to set us up on a play date."

"Are they gay for each other?"

"That's what I thought!"

So far, this is the best school year ever.


	59. Alfred Saves The Day

Even though I never saw Dad come to my school, I knew he had been here. That much was clear when Josh came running out of the bathroom, blubbering like a baby, holding a nose that was spurting blood, screaming his head off, "DEAR GOD, MAKE HIM STOP!"

I laughed so hard I nearly peed my pants, until Valiant whacked me upside the head, "Don't get all screwy on me now girl."

"Whatever." I laughed.

Valiant rolled her eyes, and Raphael ran up to me, "Hey, Justin, look I was wondering… uh, there's this concert, and-"

"JUSTIN TODD!" Screamed someone. I looked over my shoulder, to see the principal speed walking down the hallway, wrath of God in his eyes.

Valiant raised an eyebrow, "What did you do?"

"I don't know, I haven't done anything intentional yet this year." I mumbled.

The principal stopped right in front of me, "Justin Todd, report to my office immediately."

"Sure thing." I said, "Oh, and I noticed something about you, I wanna be the first to offer my congratulations."

He paused, confusion clouding his anger. "About what?"

My hand shot out, stroking his ridiculously huge beer gut, "On your baby. How many months?"

To say I was in trouble was an understatement.

**LATER, AT THE WAYNE MANOR:**

Bruce glared at me, "The first day of school, really?"

Of course, Mom and Dad just had to be visiting with Grandpa and Grandma tonight. I'm actually pretty sure that Dad was out of the house to avoid Bruce's wrath about beating up a teenage boy for 'kissing me'. "Yep."

Bruce's glare was at it's all time worst, but I didn't even flinch. "To the principal?"

"Everyone was thinking it, I just said it." I defended.

"Did he even bother to tell you what he was mad about in the first place?" Bruce asked.

"Nope, he was to busy ranting his head off at me about the baby/gut thing."

"He found a dead cat carcass in a ventilation shaft, with a piece of notebook paper stapled onto it, saying 'Enjoy the smell of death over the summer- Justin Todd.' right above his office door." Bruce growled

"It took them until the start of this school year to find it? I figured it would have been found over the summer at least." I mused.

"You killed a cat, and stuffed it into the school vents?" Bruce asked.

"No, I found it in an alley way, tire tread on it's stomach." I said, "The entire school is afraid of me, I've seen it's true face."

"… What?"

"Watchmen joke."

"Who are the Watchmen?"

"Comic book vigilantes, I was quoting Rorschach." I explained. "He's the coolest one."

Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "You've been reading to many comic books."

"What clued you in on that? The fact I dressed up as NiteOwl last Halloween, or the three wall length book shelves in my room, packed to the brim with comic books?" I asked.

"So, just let me get this straight, you find a dead cat in an alley, and your first thought is to stuff it into the school vents on the last day of school?"

"Yeah, I don't get what's so hard about that to understand." I snapped.

Bruce was dead silent for a few long minutes, before he broke the silence, "No mask for two months."

"What!?"

"Would you rather be on cave clean up for four months?" He threatened.

"Uh, actually, yeah."

"Rhetorical." He snapped. "Grounded, two months."

"Oh come on Gramps!" I protested.

"SILENCE!" He thundered.

I laughed, "Good one."

"…"

"Oh, God, you weren't joking, were you?"

"No, I wasn't." He ground out.

There are two skills in this life that I do which I am proud of. Number one, being a carbon copy of my father. Number Two, being able to drive Batman up the freaking walls.

"Well, it was funny to me anyways."

Bruce lost his cool then, "Justine Todd," Oh God he used my full name. It's about to get real. "I have _had _it with you. Do you _think _you can just _do _whatever you want, without _consequence_?"

"No." I said sincerely. "I _believe _that I can do _anything _I want, without consequences that _matter_."

"Like killing a man?" He asked.

"Haven't done that in a little over a year big guy." I waved off.

"More like a few weeks."

I raised an eyebrow, "What ya mean?"

"I know what happened in that alternate dimension." He ground out. "I know you killed the Jason there."

I was silent.

"You don't even deny it." He said, disgusted.

"The douche bag was trying to _beat _me, with a damn _crowbar_." I hissed.

Bruce was silent.

I stood up, "I get it, grounded, two months. I'll call Dad, and get it shortened to two weeks."

I walked away, not really towards anything, just walking. Strangely enough, when ever I started walking like that, my feet just always seem to take me to wherever Alfred is. This time, he was in the kitchen, fumbling with something in the oven.

"Hello Miss Justine." He said, polite as ever.

"Hey Alfred." I managed to mumble.

He seemed to notice my depression. "Whatever's the matter."

"I don't really wanna talk about it." I mumbled. That didn't really last long. "Alfred, did you ever have to do something, something that under different circumstances might have been bad, but, that time, it was okay to do? And maybe, maybe that when it's over, someone important thinks you've done something wrong, even though they've never been in that situation?"

Alfred nodded, "Yes, I have. And Miss Justine, I mean this with absolute certainty." Alfred took out what was in the oven, putting it on a tray and walking over to me. "You tell him to go to Hell."

Alfred put the tray down on the table, and I smiled. It was a vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting, and two number candles on top, reading 16.

"Thank you Alfred." I said gratefully.

Alfred nodded, "Anytime Miss Justine, now, quickly, before the wax melts down onto the cupcake, blow out the candles."

I puffed them out, and quickly took the candles out, licking the frosting off, and then eating to cupcake. God I love our ninja butler.


	60. Dog Fight

School the next day was complete Hell. Teachers were giving me dirty looks, and other students snickered behind my back. By the time P.E. came around, I had already punched my locker three times. Valiant just laughed at me, "Someone's on her period."

"Shut up Valiant." I snapped.

"Oh, not very friendly." She chuckled, "Wanna skip P.E.? Work on that stink bomb?"

"… Actually, I think I wanna go to P.E. today." Frustration had built up that could only be eaten away with push ups and laps around the basket ball court.

She wrinkled up her nose, "Really?"

"Yeah." I mumbled, "You go ahead and work on it."

I headed off the P.E. for the first time since… well, I've never gone to P.E. here.

The minute I set foot in the changing room, I knew something was wrong. It was the P.E. clothes. I had gotten them last year, and I had grown. They were two sizes to small.

Every other girl had already changed, there was no one to hit up for a borrowed pair.

It's okay, Justin, you can do this.

I pulled on the shorts and tank top, walking out of the changing room. No one really noticed. At all.

Today was dodge ball, and I _loved _that. Apparently, the city was complaining about girls and boys being separated during P.E., claiming that it was sexist, and now boys and girls both have P.E. together.

I won! Last person standing, and the boys on the other team weren't to happy about it.

As soon as gym was over, one of the boys walked over to me, smiling, "That was pretty cool, how come I've never seen you in gym before?"

I shrugged, "My first time actually showing up."

He laughed, "Oh, you're one of _those _girls."

I raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

He nodded, "You know, one of _those _girls, laid back, doesn't like sports, way to concerned about her nails to actually pick up a base ball, _those _girls. I'm going to guess you like Twilight and are head over heals for Edward, right?"

"Twilight?" I asked, "What the hell is Twilight? And whose Edward? Does he go to school here?"

He paused, "You're kidding… right?"

"Kidding about what?" I snapped. This guy wasn't making any sense.

He just shook his head, laughing, "Hey, you're that girl who pulled the baby/beer gut gag on the principle, right?"

"That's me." I confirmed. Seems my reputation proceeded me.

He laughed, "That was hilarious! I was standing right behind him, and as soon as he dragged you to the his office, I stuck my head into my locker and laughed until the janitor told me to go home!"

I chuckled a little, "Yeah, well it got me grounded."

"Sorry to here that, but hey, to pain no gain, right?" He joked. "Aren't you… uh, something Todd?"

I nodded, "Yeah, Justin Todd."

"Justin?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that a boy's name?"

"I have three older brothers that are also names Justin." I said, "My Dad's a professional kick boxer, and he took one to many hits to the head in the ring. It's easier for him to remember all our names this way."

He paused, as if trying to figure out if I was joking or not, "Really?"

I rolled my eyes, "No, my name is Justine Todd, Justin is a nickname my dad gave me when I was ten."

He nodded, "Justine, I like that name. It's pretty."

I paused, "Oh, uh, thanks." No one had ever called my name pretty, no one had even called me pretty myself. "Uh, what's your name?"

He smiled, "Rex Dowlas."

"Cool name." I said, "Why on Earth did your parents name you Rex?"

He frowned, "You have no idea how many times I've asked them that."

I laughed, "Well, it's better than being names Bartholomew, right?"

He laughed too, "People actually name their kids that?"

"All the time!" I said. That's when I gave him a good look over, tall, muscular, he looked like he was Mexican but had no accent, black hair, brown eyes. Did I mention, he was totally hot? I'm not usually a girl who goes goo-goo over hot boys, I can keep my head on and not giggle like an idiot. But I won't deny, this boy is _fine_.

He shook his head, "Well, that's one thing to thank my dad for, I guess. I'll see you around."

I nodded, "Sure."

**LATER, AT DR:**

Bruce would kill me for putting on the hood and jacket, but he wasn't my father, so I didn't care. When Dad found out about the baby/beer gut joke, he just laughed and noogied my head, saying, "You're the best kid ever!" So I couldn't really give a rat's ass about what Bruce said.

The minute I walked into DR, I saw Mary, Michael, and Gabriel standing in the main room, looking over all the trophy cases. I had to feel a lot of pride over them all, especially our three newest additions.

First new one was something Conan had brought in, a tooth from Killer Croc. They had a brawl a few weeks back in Gotham sewers, and she came out with a huge tooth in her fist.

Second one was something Kyler had brought in, a vial of fear gas, courtesy of Scare Crow. She had caught up with him in Star City, he was trying to put some roots in a new city and she had stopped it very quickly. Roy had been so proud.

The third one was something I had brought back from that other dimension. Jason's mask, all covered in blood.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked.

Michael nodded, "Yeah, Speedy called us here."

I growled, "Stupid archer-"

"Black Hood." Kyler said, walking in, "I need to talk to you."

"Uh-oh."

She dragged me into the other room, and held up three plastic cards. I glared at her, "No!"

She rolled her eyes, "Mary saved your life Justin, and her team has been nothing but helpful to us, they wanna join, you're the leader, you extend the offer,"

"But I don't want to!" I whined.

"Todd!" She snapped.

"Fine!" I hissed, grabbing the three DR membership cards, and walking back into the main room.

I sighed, looking the three over, I had no idea how to do this. Was I supposed to give them some heart felt speech about how being in DR was a big privilege? Why was it such a big deal? What's the difference between being in DR, or the Teen Titans? I didn't even know.

A few awkward moments drifted by, before I nodded, "Follow me."

I walked down the hall to what Kyler called my angsting room, and I called it the computer room. I sat down in front of the computer, reaching into the file cabinet beside the desk, pulling out a picture I kept at the very back. I handed it to Mary, and her eyes widened, "Oh my…"

I nodded, "That picture is all that remained of a young girl who went missing five months ago. I was investigating her disappearance, and I chased the suspected killer into the woods outside of a kennel. Me and Hellhound caught up to him, but before I could question him, Hellhound stared going crazy. He was barking, sniffing the air, pawing the ground, and the perp started laughing. I remember what happened next all to well."

**He laughed, looking at Hellhound, "Well, looks like he's hungry, that's to bad. Other dogs already ate dinner."**

**Hellhound jumped to the side, digging hastily at the ground, whining. I walked over, keeping my gun aimed at the perp. Hellhound jerked his head up, holding something in his mouth.**

**I nearly threw up. It was a human arm, gnawed at, but not by Hellhound.**

**I turned back to the perp, "You sick son of a-"**

"**I'm not sick!" He screamed, jumping up, waving his hands in the air, "I'm a genius! Cant you see, you insolent child!? I'm the only one who can make it!"**

"**Make what!?" I snarled.**

"**A week ago, I invented a serum, it triggers a primitive sense in canines, to **_**hunt**_**."**

**My eyes widened, and I looked over at Hellhound, who stood there, unaffected. "Your dog seems to be immune." The man noted.**

**I shivered, "You kidnapped a girl, and coated her in your serum, then put her in the middle of the woods, and set the dogs on her."**

**He nodded, "A necessary sacrifice, for science."**

"**For madness!" I screamed, aiming my gun, and fired two warning shots, into his head.**

I looked up at them, rubbing my eyes as I felt a headache coming on from the memories. "And that's where it ended."

Gabriel's eyes widened, "You… you killed him?"

I nodded, "Yes. Then I took the serum, and I coated him in it, his dogs made short work of him."

Michael looked completely shaken, "What did Batman do to you? Everyone knows about his no killing rule."

I smirked, "He never found out, the dogs took off with everything, not even a bone left."

Mary just looked at me, and I braced myself for Bible verses and screaming, but instead, she just nodded a little, "You did the right thing."

I paused, a look of understanding passed between us. I stood up, "I didn't you to confirm that."

I held up the three membership cards, "DR isn't like the Justice League, the Outlaws, or even like the Teen Titans. Mostly because we're all a lot younger, and because, killing, in desperate circumstances, or in well deserved revenge, is allowed."

Mary nodded, "Hence the name."

I held out the cards closer to them, "Now, you're never going to be asked to kill, and we'll certainly never make you. But we have a policy here, much like Las Vegas. What happens here, stays here. If I kill someone because he killed seven children, you don't go tattle to Batman. If you do, you're done here."

They all nodded, understanding. "And one more rule." I said, as they took their membership cards from me. "I'm leader, and what I say goes. If someone comes along who can do a better job, then I'll step down."

They all nodded, staring at their cards. Guess I'm not to bad at speeches.

**THIS IS THE CHAPTER SIXTY!? How long have I been writing this?**


	61. Final Countdown

Dear Readers,

It has been exactly one year since I started Desperate Revenge, and even longer still since Jason Todd's daughter and Blue Jay. I have fallen in love with Justin, and how she went from a shy, damaged child to a very outspoken, capable, young woman. How Kyler went from being a hoodlum to being Speedy, second in command of an elite team of heroes. How Conan went form being unstable and withdrawn to strong and independent, and not to mention the very heart of her team. How Snow has absolutely stayed the usually silent necromancer, who, although a bit withdrawn from most, is not filled with angst.

I've seen new characters come, and go. But no matter if they stayed, or left, or how long they were in this story, they left footprints in my heart that will never be wiped away.

I've laughed, bled, and cried with all these characters. I've seen them blossom from seedlings to beautiful flowers. I've seen them over come the impossible, and change everything about the way I looked at comic books, what they could not start, they rewrote. I have been there for their best, and their worst, at their highest and their lowest points.

Out of all these experiences, the thing I loved most of all about being here and witnessing this story unfold, the best experience I've had here, was sharing it with all of you.

I've had my fair share of fans, and my fair share of critics. I've been depressed by several people who've said that my characters are Mary Sue's, and I've had my heart warmed by dedicated fans who've rushed to my defense, saying that I'm talented in ways they can't describe.

After sixty chapters of this story, after a whole year dedicated to writing this team, to pleasing my fans, and to giving the finger to my critics, you have no idea how much it pains me to say, this story is over.

This is the closing letter of Desperate Revenge.

However, Justin, Kyler, Conan, Snow, Raphael, Michael, Mark, Gabriel, Adim, Dunya, Kenya, Olivia, Austin, and even Rango, they will not end here!

Although this chapter of their lives if over, I will make it my sole duty as a writer to move them to greener pastures, to continued their stories, and continue writing for them as long as I live!

Rest assured, their new stories (plural for a reason) are going to be made, molded, and put up on this wonderful site that had captured my passion, and my heart.

Conan, Snow, Kyler, and Justin will each get their very own one shot of character development before my new story about their team comes out. If you intend to read the sequel to this story, this is very important, _do not miss reading these one shots_. I promise you, you will not understand why they're acting different, or look different unless you read those one shots.

This new story will take place six months after this story, and it will be called: **Revenge Of The Desperate**

To my fans: I love you all, you're my inspiration for writing. It's been my pleasure sharing this year with you.

To the team of Desperate Revenge to which I have dedicated a year of my life: It's been an honor growing over the course of a year with you all, and it will be a privilege continuing your stories.

To my critics: Although your insults have been cruel some times, and I can't hide my distaste for you all, your criticism has helped me do better also. Because of this, it's only fair that I say, thank you for hating me and my stories.

On one final note, I have a confession for all of you. When this story was first starting, after chapter five, no one was reviewing, at all. I went up to chapter nine, without a single review. I was tempted to give up on this story, as I have with so many before, because I felt that all of my fans had given up on it. I felt I had proven my critiques right, that my story was talent less, and I was a bad writer. But, then, out of the blue, a single review was left on chapter ten by a member of Fanfiction that went by the name of TheWalkingMan. They simply said two words: good job.

Those two words, from a complete stranger, made me wake up, and keep writing. I owe nearly this entire story to that one person, who never reviewed again.

I'd like to thank DrakesChic, Rivalsareallies, Red X17, Newsiesgirllaces and sunnydayz56 who were the most constant reviewers, and who were the only ones to ever message me about the story, and give ideas.

I'd also like to thank CrimsonMercenary, Misakirox, and Chibi-Grimmsley, who also reviewed. :D

Signing off for the very last time on Desperate Revenge

-Ninja


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